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FUBIIIHEL     r:Y     CHARl 


SPECIMENS 


NEWSPAPER    LITEEATUEE 


PERSONAL    MEMOIRS,    ANECDOTES, 


EEMINISCENCES. 


JOSEPH  T.  BUCKINGHAM. 


VOL.  I. 


BOSTON: 

CHARLES    C.   LITTLE   AND   JAMES   BRO^^TST. 
1850. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1&50,  by  Joseph  T 
Buckingham,  in  the  Clerk^s  Ori.ce  of  the  District  Court  of  ll.e  D,^tr.ct  ot 
Massachusetts. 


prQ> 


C  A  JI  B  R  I  D  G  E : 

PRINTED    liV    liOLLEa    AND    HOUGHTON. 


ALL     PRINTERS 

AND 

CONDUCTORS    OF    THE    NEWSPAPER    PRESS, 

WHO    ENTERTAIN 

A    TRUE    REGARD    FOR     THE     DIGNITY    OF    THEIR     PROFESSION, 

AND  A 

DISPOSITION    TO    RENDER    IT    A    BLESSING    TO    HUMANITY 

AS    WELL    AS 

A    SOURCE    OF    PROFIT    TO    THEMSELVES, 

THESE    VOLUMES 

ARE 

RESPECTFULLY  AND  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED, 

BY    THEIR 

FRIEND    AND    FELLOW-LABORER, 

J.   T.  B. 


PREFACE 


The  nature  of  the  contents  of  these  volumes  is  so  dis- 
tinctly described  in  the  title-page,  that  a  preface  may  be 
thought  rather  superfluous  than  needful.  It  is  not  my 
purpose  to  forestall  objection,  to  deprecate  criticism,  or 
to  offer  apology  for  defect. 

Some  of  the  "  specimens,"  here  exhibited,  were  pre- 
served during  an  apprenticeship  from  1795  to  1800  ; 
others,  occasionally,  in  subsequent  years.  When  solicited 
by  my  friends,  the  publishers,  to  write  a  hook  of  reminis- 
cences, I  bethought  me  of  my  juvenile  repository ;  and, 
on  looking  it  through,  it  occurred  to  me  that  some  of  its 
materials, — with  an  accompaniment  of  memoirs,  anec- 
dotes, and  scraps  of  history,  to  point  out  their  origin,  and, 
when  practicable,  identify  their  authors, — might  meet 
with  a  degree  of  favor,  sufficient  to  indemnify  the  expense 
of  publication.  "On  this  hint"  I  went  to  work,  and 
here  is  the  product  of  my  labor. 

To  the  History  of  Printing,  by  the  late  Isaiah  Thomas, 
Esq.  I  am  indebted  for  many  —  though  not  all  —  the 
items  of  personal  history  of  the  earliest  printers.  I  know 
not  that  those  facts  can  be  obtained  from  any  other  source. 
Mr.  Thomas's  work  is  not  now  to  be  found  in  the  literary 
a* 


VI  PREFACE. 

market ;  —  it  is  entirely  out  of  print.  In  what  I  have 
drawn  from  it,  his  own  language  has  been  freely  pre- 
served ;  but  seldom,  if  ever,  without  some  kind  of  refer- 
ence acknowledging  the  obligation. 

For  most  of  that,  which  relates  to  the  history  of  Thomas 
Fleet  and  his  descendants,  my  acknowledgement  is  due 
to  John  F.  Eliot,  of  Boston,  a  branch  of  that  stock  by 
the  maternal  line,  and,  like  his  venerable  father,  the  late 
Dr.  Ephraim  Eliot,  a  studious  preserver  of  interesting 
and  curious  morsels  of  antiquity. 

The  relatives  of  the  late  Benjamin  Russell  politely 
favored  me  with  the  examination  of  all  the  manuscript 
papers  he  left  at  his  decease.  But  frcm  these  little 
could  be  extracted  to  aid  in  the  composition  of  a  memoir, 
worthy  of  the  subject.  They  were  chiefly  letters  on 
business  affairs,  that  possessed  no  interest  for  general 
readers.  From  the  papers  of  one,  who  had,  for  many 
years,  been  intimately  connected  with  some  of  the  most 
celebrated  statesmen  and  politicians  of  Massachusetts,  it 
was  expected  that  there  would  remain  some  tokens 
of  correspondence  on  matters  of  public  concern  ;  but 
nothing  of  this  description  was  discovered.  A  short  mem- 
orandum, on  a  piece  of  paper  not  larger  than  one  of  these 
pages,  stating  the  name  and  occupation  of  his  father,  the 
time  of  his  own  birth,  and  the  number  and  names  of  his 
brothers  and  sisters,  is  all  the  information  derived  from 
these  papers.  I  am  indebted  to  Henry  Farnum,  Esq.  of 
Boston,  — long  the  famihar  friend  of  Mr.  Russell,  —  for 
suggestions  that  have  been  useful  in  compiling  the 
memoir ;  and  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jenks  of  Boston,  for  his 
courteous  criticism  and  kind  approbation  of  my  perform- 
ance.  My  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Russell  began  in  1802, 


PREFACE.  Vn 

and  most  of  the  anecdotes  related  of  him  I  have  heard 
repeatedly  from  his  own  lips.  It  is  regretted  that  he  did 
not  occupy  some  of  the  latter  years  of  his  life  in  writing 
a  history  of  himself  and  Ms  times.  He  was  frequently 
requested  to  do  this,  as  frequently  resolved  that  he  would 
do  it,  but  died  and  left  no  record,  but  what  is  contained 
in  the  Centinel.  That  is  his  auto-biography  —  a  mirror, 
in  which,  only,  a  reflection  of  his  character  should  be 
sought,  and  in  which,  only,  it  will  be  found. 

To  the  Librarians  of  the  Antiquarian  Society,  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Historical  Society,  the  Boston  Athenaeum,  and 
of  Harvard  College,  my  thanks  are  due  for  the  privilege  of 
examining  the  files  of  newspapers  in  the  libraries  of  those 
institutions  respectively.  These  have  been  referred  to, 
chiefly,  to  verify  dates  and  to  confirm  impressions  on  the 
tablet  of  memory. 

A  large  portion  of  this  work  consists  of  extracts,  which 
required  but  little  exertion  to  select  and  arrange  in  their 
present  connection,  —  an  employment  more  pleasant  than 
irksome.  But  the  personal  notices,  meagre  and  imper- 
fect as  they  are,  have  not  been  compiled  without  labor 
and  vexation.  This  portion  has  been  tedious  and  discour- 
aging. Many  fruitless  inquiries  have  been  made  —  many 
letters  have  been  written,  which  produced  no  satisfactory 
answers.  I  have  been  anxious  to  present  more  particu- 
lars of  the  lives  and  actions  of  several  persons  than  I  have 
been  able  to  obtain.  In  respect  to  some,  who  have 
deceased  within  a  few  years,  and  who  are  still  remem- 
bered, I  have  not  been  successful  in  learning,  even 
from  their  nearest  relatives,  any  more  of  their  history 
than  the  places  and  times  of  their  respective  births  and 
deaths. 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

I  like  the  plan  of  this  work,  —  and  I  make  no  apology, 
nor  ask  pardon,  for  the  conceitedness  of  the  declaration. 
If  it  could  be  extended  so  as  to  embrace  sketches  and 
specimens  of  all  the  prominent  newspapers,  printers,  and 
editors,  that  have  put  in  their  claim  to  public  favor  in 
these  United  States,  —  and  \yhich  are  entitled  to  such  a 
memorial,  —  I  cannot  resist  the  belief  that  it  would  be 
"instructive,  useful,  and  entertaining."  But  such  a 
field  of  labor  would  re([uire  an  industrious  and  patient 
gleaner,  —  elastic  of  nerve,  redolent  of  ambition,  instinct 
with  courage,  and  confident  of  coming  years.  Such  a 
work  would  fill  more  volumes  than  would  be  read.  The 
world  itself  would  hardly  contain  the  books. 

The  limits,  to  which,  by  an  arrangement  with  the  pub- 
lisher, the  contents  of  these  volumes  were  circumscribed, 
have  necessarily  confined  the  selections  of  specimens  to 
New-England  (except  in  one  or  two  instances)  and  chiefly 
to  Massachusetts,  and  precluded  all  notices  of  publica- 
tions that  have  had  their  origin  since  the  commencement 
of  the  present  century.  Materials  for  a  third  volume, 
embracing  matters  of  more  recent  date,  and  which  excited 
some  interest  at  the  time  of  their  occurrence,  are  on  hand  ; 
but  it  is  not  desirable  that  the  public  should  be  burdened 
with  uncalled-for  details.  And  even  if  the  publication 
should  be  demanded,  a  willing  compliance  wuth  the  call 
may  be  defeated  by  an  event,  to  which  all  are  sub- 
ject, —  an  event  which  may  happen  to-morhow,  —  Avhich 
inust  happen  SOON. 

These  volumes  make  no  pretensions  to  a  high  literary 
character.  They  are  the  production  of  one,  who  had  no 
advantages  of  education,  but  such  as  were  supplied  by 
the  district  schools  in  Connecticut,  more  than  sixty  years 


PREFACE.  IX 

ago,  and  before  he  was  ten  years  old.  For  all  else  of 
literary  qualification,  he  is  indebted  only  to  his  own  un- 
aided efforts.  The  printing-office  was  his  academy,  and 
he  has  no  diploma  from  any  other  University  than  that,  of 
which  Gutenberg,  Laurentius,  and  Faust,  were  the  found- 
ers. J.  T.  B. 


C  0  X  T  E  X  T  S    OF    VOL.    I , 


The  Bosros  Xews-Lettes.         .......      4 

The  Bostox  Gazette.    Bkookeks  .        •        .        .        .4* 

The  New-Exglaxd  Cocsaxt tt 

The  XEW-EyGi_LS3>  Weeklt  .Tot-rv^t.      .....    89 

The  Weekxt  Eeheabsax -        .  112 

The  Bostox  Evexixg  Post 129 

The  Boston-  Weekly  Post-Bot 154 

The  Ixdepe>~dext  Adtestisek 156 

The  Bostox  Gazette.  Kxeelaxd  i  Greev's  ...  163 
The  Bostox  Gazette.  Zdes  &  Giix"s  .....  165 
The  Bostox  Weeket  Advektises  .....  306 

The  Bostox  Cheoxicle  . 212 

Tbe  Essex  Gazette =        .  217 

The  Xew-Exglaxd  Chsoxici-e  .        .        .        .   -    .        .  220 

The  Massachtsetts  Gazette 227 

The  MASSACHrsETTs  Srr 229 

The  Coxstitutioxal  Cockaxt 2*6 

The  Ixdepexpext  Chkoxicee 2*8 

The  Pexxstevaxia  Jourxal 288 

The  Essex  Jocexal 298 

The  Ixpepexpext  Ledges         .• 304 

The  Coxtixextal  Jottrxal        . 808 

The  Coxxecticct  Jockxal  axi»  Netv-Hatex  Post-Bot        .  313 

The  Xew-Loxi>ox  Gazette .  S16 

The  Heeald  of  Fkeedom  .        .       .        ...        .        -        -  321 


COSTKSTS. 


APFENDIX. 

I               -                       -                  -  S» 

1                            -  .         -            «7 

L  ...  a*: 


Ti>  Vol.  I  ...  S45 


?  P  E  C I  :^-i  E  x  s 


XE^SPAPER   LITEP.ATUEE. 


Th: 


my  is  known  lo 

bribe  Rev.  -     ?  _  r  3Ia5=a- 

chnsects  Hi- 

^      :  .  .   Iii5asz2-Il 


of  it  as  iei :  sta:                                               y  to 

la^.  an  .           -  re."' 

TheT  5..  ruse 

fi^t  ob::.  _  l:  to 

VOL.    L  1 


2  SPECIMENS    OF 

grant  the  same."  It  was  printed  by  Richard  Pierce  for 
Benjamin  Harris.* 

Richard  Pierce,  the  reputed  printer  of  this  newspaper, 
is  said  by  Mr.  Thomas  to  have  been  the  fifth  person 
who  carried  on  the  printing  business  in  Boston.  Where 
he  learned  the  art  is  not  known  ;  but,  as  there  was  a 
printer  of  that  name  in  London  in  1679,  it  is  thought 
not  improbable  that  he  emigrated  to  this  country,  and 
set  up  his  press  in  Boston,  and  was  identical  with  the 
Richard  Pierce,  whose  name  appears  in  the  imprint 
of  the  newspaper,  that  is  in  the  London  State  Paper 
Office. 

Benjamin  Harris,  whose  name  is  given  as  that  of  the 
proprietor  of  this  first  newspaper,  had  a  printing-house  in 
Boston,  and  printed  chiefly  for  booksellers.  In  169*2 
and  1694,  he  printed  the  Acts  and  Laws  of  Massachu- 
setts, and,  according  to  the  imprint,  was  "Printer  to  his 
Excellency  the  Governour  and  Council."  He  was  from 
London,  and  returned  to  that  place  about  the  year  1694. 
Both  before  and  after  his  emigration  to  this  country, 
he  had  a  bookstore  in  London.  Dunton,  an  English  book- 
seller, who  had  been  in  Boston,  in  his  "  Life  and  Errors," 
printed  in  London,  in  1705,  says  of  Benjamin  Har- 
ris,—  "  He  was  a  brisk  asserter  of  English  liberties,  and 
once  printed  a  book  with  that  very  title.  He  sold  a 
Protestant  Petition  in  King  Charles's  reign,  for  which  he 
was  fined  five  pounds ;  and  he  was  once  set  in  the 
pillory,  but  his  wife  (like  a  kind  Rib)  stood  by  him  to 
defend  her  husband  against  the  mob.  After  this  (having 
a  deal  of  mercury  in  his  natural  temper)  he  traveled  to 

♦See  Felt's  History  of  Salem,  vol.  i. 


NEWSPAPER     LITERATURE.  d 

New-England,  where  he  followed  bookselling,  and  then 
coffee-selling,  and  then  printing,  but  continued  Ben 
Harris  still,  and  is  now  both  bookseller  and  printer  in 
Grace  Church  Street,  as  we  find  by  his  London  Post ; 
so  that  his  conversation  is  general  (but  never  imperti- 
nent) and  his  wit  pliable  to  all  inventions.  But  yet  his 
vanity,  if  he  has  any,  gives  no  alloy  to  his  wit,  and  is  no 
more  than  might  justly  spring  from  conscious  virtue ; 
and  I  do  him  but  justice  in  this  part  of  his  character,  for 
in  once  traveling  with  him  from  Bury  Fair,  I  found  him 
to  be  the  most  ingenious  and  innocent  companion,  that  I 
had  ever  met  with."  * 

Harris's  commission   to   print   the  Laws  was  placed 
on  the  page  opposite  to  the  title,  in  the  words  following  : 

By  his  Excellency.  —  I  order  Benjamin  Harris  to  print  the  Acts 
and  Laws  made  by  the  Great  and  General  Court,  or  Assemlily  of  Their 
Majesties  Province  of  Massachusetts-Bay  in  New-England,  that  we  the 
People  may  be  informed  thereof. 

William  Phipps. 

Boston,  December  16,  1692. 

*  History  of  Priiuing,  vol.  i.  '2i:7-i). 


THE   BOSTOX    NEWS-LETTER. 


The  first  newspaper  established  in  North-America, 
was  the  Boston  News-Letter,  the  first  number  of  which 
appeared  on  jNIonday,  April  24,  1704.  It  was  a  half 
sheet  of  paper,  in  size  about  twelve  inches  by  eight ; 
made  up  in  two  pages  folio,  with  two  columns  on  each 
page.  Lender  the  title,  which  is  in  Roman  letters  of 
the  size  called,  by  printers,  French  Canon,  are  the  words 
"printed  by  authority,"  in  Old  English,  or  Black  let- 
ter. The  iminint  is  "  Boston  ;  Printed  by  B.  Green, 
Sold  hy  Nicholas  Boone,  at  his  Shop  near  the  Old  Meet- 
ing-House."  From  the  annexed  advertisement.  —  the 
only  one  which  the  paper  contains,  —  it  is  safe  to  infer 
that  the  proprietor  was  John  Campbell :  — 

This  Xews-Letter  is  to  be  continued  Weekly ;  and  all  Persons  who 
have  any  Houses,  Lands,  Tenements,  Farms,  Ships,  Vessels,  Goods, 
Wares,  or  Merchandizes,  &c.  to  be  Sold,  or  Let ;  or  Servants  Run-away, 
or  Goods  Stole  or  Lost ;  may  have  the  same  inserted  at  a  Keasonable 
Rate,  from  Twelve  Pence,  to  Five  Shilliiufs,  and  not  to  exceed :  "Wlio 
may  agree  with  John  Camphel  Postmaster  of  Boston. 

All  Persons  in  Town  and  Countiy  may  have  said  News-Letter  every 
Week,  Yearly,  upon  i-easonable  terms,  agreeing  with  JbA»i  Campbel,  Post- 
master for  the  same. 


BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 


From  its  commencement  to  November  3,  1707,  the 
News-Letter  was  printed  by  Bartholomew  Green.  From 
that  date  to  October  2,  1711,  it  was  "  Printed  by  John 
Allen  in  Pudding-Lane.*  And  Sold  at  the  Post-Office 
in  Cornhill."  At  that  time,  the  post-office  and  Allen's 
printing-office  were  destroyed  by  fire,  and  the  paper  was 
again  printed  by  B.  Green,  "  for  John  Campbell,  Post- 
master," till  the  end  of  the  year  1722. 

Of  the  personal  history  of  John  Campbell,  I  am  not 
aware  that  any  thing  is  known,  except  that  he  "  was  a 
Scotchman,  a  bookseller,  and  postmaster  in  Boston." 
If  his  literary  accomplishments  should  be  estimated  by 
the  evidence  furnished  in  the  columns  of  his  paper, 
they  were  not  of  a  high  order.  The  contents  of  the 
News-Letter,  during  the  whole  of  his  proprietorship,  are 
chiefly  extracts  from  London  papers.  The  little,  that  has 
the  appearance  of  having  been  written  by  the  editor,  is 
clumsily  composed,  with  no  regard  to  punctuation  or 
grammatical  construction.  His  own  advertisements  con- 
cerning the  business  relations  between  him  and  his  cus- 
tomers form  the  principal  portion  of  all,  that  may  be 
considered  as  original  matter.  The  extracts,  which  fol- 
low, taken  almost  at  random  are  specimens  of  the  style 
of  his  composition. 

During  the  several  years  from  its  commencement,  it 
is  evident,  from  Campbell's  frequent  and  importunate 
calls  upon  the  public,  that  the  News-Letter  had  but 
feeble  support,  and  limited  circulation.  The  following 
advertisement  is  taken  from  the  paper  of  May  12,  1707, 
more  than  three  years  after  the  publication  was  begun  : — 

*  Now  Devonshire-street. 


b  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 

At  the  perswasion  of  seA'eval  Gentlemen,  Merchants  and  others,  both 
in  this  and  the  Neighbouring  Pi-ovinces,  who  are  sensible  of  the  want  of 
this  Publick  Letter  of  Intelligeuce  for  both  Foreign  and  Domestic 
Occurrences ;  the  Undertaker  has  once  more  attempted  to  Print  the 
same  in  hopes  that  all  Persons  who  loves  a  Publick  Good  will  one  way 
or  other  put  to  their  helping  iuind,  to  Promote  and  Support  it,  that  the 
same  may  not  only  be  camed  on  a  fourth  year,  but  also  continued  for 
the  future. 

And  all  Persons  in  Town  and  Country  who  have  a  mind  to  encourage 
the  same,  may  have  the  sfiid  Letter  of  Intelligence  every  Week  by  the 
year  upon  reasonable  Terms,  agreeing  with  John  Campbell  Post-master 
of  Boston. 

'Tis  taken  for  granted  that  all  such  who  had  this  Letter  of  Intelligence 
last  year,  and  have  not  forbid  the  same,  will  be  still  willing  to  take  it  at 
the  Price  which  others  give  :  If  any  are  of  a  contrary  mind,  let  them 
signify  it,  and  we  shall  forbear  sending  it  to  them. 

The  Undertaker  lias  ak  been  advised  to  cany  on  the  Occurrences 
where  they  were  left  off,  and  'tis  hoped  that  fourteen  days  will  retrieve 
the  same. 

At  the  close  of  the  fouilli  year,  Campbell  repeated  his 
appeal  to  the  public  in  more  importunate  terms  than 
before.  "  All  Persons  in  Town  and  Country,"  who  had 
not  already  paid  for  the  fourth  year,  were  desired  "  to 
pay  or  send  it  in :  with  their  resolution  if  they  would 
have  it  continued  and  proceeded  in  for  a  fifth  year,  (Life 
permitted  :)  though  there  has  not  as  yet  appeared  a 
competent  number  to  take  it  annually  so  as  to  enable 
the  Undertaker  to  carry  it  on  effectually ;  yet  he  is  still 
willing  to  proceed  with  it,  if  those  gentlemen  that  have 
the  last  year  lent  their  hel])ing  hand  to  support  it,  con- 
tinue still  of  the  same  mind  another  year,  in  hopes  that 
those  who  have  been  backward  to  promote  such  a  Pub- 
lick Good  will  at  last  set  in  with  it." 

In  January,  1719,  Campbell  proposed  publishing  his 
paper  on  a  whole  sheet,  "  because,"  as  he  said,  he  found 
it  impossible,  "  with  half  a  sheet  a  week  to  carry  on  all 


JOHN    CAMPBELL. 


1 


the  Publick  News  of  Europe."  The  project  does  not 
seem  to  have  fulfilled  his  expectations  ;  for,  a  few  months 
afterwards,  he  again  laid  his  grievances  before  the  public, 
in  language,  which  could  leave  no  doubt  that  he  was  suf- 
fering sore  disappointment :  — 

The  Undertaker  of  this  News-Letter,  the  12th  January  hast  being  the 
Second  Week  of  this  Currant  Years  Intelligence  gave  then  Intimation 
that  after  14  (now  upwards  of  15)  years  experience,  it  was  impossible 
with  half  a  Sheet  a  Week  to  carry  on  all  the  Publick  Occurrences  of 
Europe,  with  those  of  this,  our  Neighbouring  Provinces,  and  the  West 
Indies.  To  make  up  wliich  Deficiency,  and  the  News  Newer  and  more 
acceptable,  he  has  since  Printed  every  other  Week  a  Sheet,  whereby 
that  which  seem'd  Old  in  the  former  half  Sheets,  becomes  New  now  by 
the  Sheet,  which  is  easy  to  be  seen  by  any  One  who  will  be  at  the  pains 
to  trace  back  former  years,  and  even  this  time  12  Months,  we  wei'e  then 
13  Months  behind  with  the  Foreign  News  beyond  Great  Britain,  and 
now  less  than  Five  Months,  so  that  by  the  Sheet  we  have  retrieved  about 
8  months  since  January  last,  and  any  One  that  has  the  News-Letter 
since  that  time,  to  January  next  (life  permitted)  will  be  accommodated 
with  all  the  News  of  Eui-ope,  &c.  contained  in  the  Publick  Prints  of 
London  that  are  needful  for  to  be  known  in  these  Parts.  And  in  regard 
the  Undertaker  had  not  suitable  encouragement,  even  to  Print  half  a 
Sheet  Weekly,  seeing  that  he  cannot  vend  300  at  an  Inipression,  tho' 
some  ignorantly  concludes  he  Sells  upwards  of  a  Thousand  ;  far  less  is 
he  able  to  Print  a  Sheet  every  other  Week,  Mdthout  an  Addition  of  4,  6, 
or  8  Shillings  a  Year,  as  every  one  thinks  tit  to  give  payable  Quarterly, 
which  will  only  help  to  pay  for  Press  and  Paper,  giving  his  Labour  for 
nothing.  And  considering  the  great  Charge  he  is  at  for  several  Setts  of 
Publick  Prints,  by  sundry  Vessels  from  London,  with  the  Price  of  Press, 
Paper,  Labour,  carrying  out  the  News  Papers,  and  his  own  Trouble,  in 
collecting  and  composing,  &c.  It  is  afforded  by  the  Year,  or  by  the 
Piece  or  Paper,  including  the  difference  of  money  far  cheaper  than  in 
England,  where  they  Sell  several  Hundreds  nay  Thousands  of  Copies 
to  a  very  small  numljer  vended  here.  Such  therefore  as  have  not 
already  paid  for  the  half  Year  past  the  last  Monday  of  June,  are  hereby 
desired  to  send  or  pay  in  the  same  to  John  Campbell  at  his  House  in 
Cornhill,  Boston.     August  10,  1719. 

It  does  not  appear  that  Campbell  was  relieved  of  his 
embarrassments  by  these  urgent  representations  of  his 


8  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 

discouraging  circumstances.  About  this  time  a  new 
postmaster  was  appointed,  who,  in  December,  1719, 
began  the  publication  of  another  paper.  Campbell  was 
much  annoyed  by  his  removal  from  office,  and  perhaps 
equally  so  by  the  setting  up  of  a  rival  newspaper.  He 
again  addressed  his  customers,  stating  that  he  began  his 
"  Publick  Letter  of  Intelligence  near  upon  sixteen  years 
ago,  and  ever  since  continued  Weekly  with  Universal  Ap- 
probation," &ic.,  "  for  the  Interest  and  advantage  of  the 
Post-Office,  Gentlemen,  Merchants  and  others,  both  in 
Town  and  Country ;  and  preventing  a  great  many  false 
Reports."  In  a  similar  style  he  continued  to  address 
the  public,  two  or  three  times  a  year,  as  long  as  he  re- 
mained proprietor  of  the  News-Letter. 

The  establishment  of  a  third  newspaper,  —  The  New- 
England  Courant,  by  James  Franklin,  in  1721, — was 
another  annoyance  to  Campbell,  and  produced  a  "paper 
war,"  which  lasted  as  long  as  he  was  connected  with 
the  News-Letter.  In  his  address  to  the  public,  Frank- 
lin, it  seems,  intimated  that  the  News-Letter  was  "  a  dull 
vehicle  of  intelligence."  The  imputation  roused  Camp- 
bell's temper,  and  imparted  a  spark  or  two  of  vitality  to 
his  paper.  He  defended  himself  against  Franklin's 
charge  in  this  wise,  in  the  News-Letter  of  August  14 :  — 

D:^  On  Monday  last  the  7th  Currant,  came  forth  a  Third  Newspaper 
in  this  Town,  Entitulcd,  The  New  England  Coui'ant,  by  Homo  non  unius 
Nec/otii ;  Or,  Jack  of  aU  Trades,  and  it  would  seem,  Good  at  none ; 
giving  some  very,  very  frothy  fulsome  Account  of  himself,  but  lest  tlie 
continuance  of  that  stj'le  should  offend  his  readers ;  wherein  with  sub- 
mission (I  speak  for  the  Publisher  of  this  Intelligence,  whose  endeav- 
ours has  always  been  to  give  no  offence,  not  meddling  with  things  out 
of  his  Province.)  The  said  Jack  promises  in  pretence  of  Friendship 
to  the  other  News  Publishers  to  amend  like  soure  Ale  in  Summer, 
Eeflecting  too,  too  much  that  my  performances  are  now  and  then,  very, 


JOHN    CAMPBELL.  9 

very  Dull,  Misrepresenting  my  candid  endeavours  (according  to  the 
Talent  of  my  Capacity  and  Education;  not  soaring  above  my  Sphere) 
in  giving  a  time  and  genuine  account  of  all  Matters  of  Fact,  both  For- 
eign and  Domestick,  as  comes  any  way  well  Attested,  for  these  Seven- 
teen Years  &  an  half  past.  It  is  often  observed,  a  bright  Morning  is 
succeeded  by  a  dark  Rainy  Day,  and  so  much  Mercury  in  the  beginning 
may  end  in  Album  Grcecum.  And  seeing  our  New  Gentleman  seems  to 
be  a  Scholer  of  Academical  Learning,  (which  I  pretend  not  to,  the 
more  my  unhappiness ;  and  too  late  to  say,  0  mihi  prceteritos  referat  si 
Jupiter  Annos)  and  better  qualified  to  perform  a  work  of  this  Natui-e, 
for  want  whereof  out  of  a  Design  for  pultlick  good  made  me  at  first  at 
the  Sollicitation  of  several  Gentlemen,  Merchants,  and  Others,  come 
into  it,  according  to  the  Proverb,  thinking  that  half  a  Loafe  was  better 
than  no  Bread ;  often  wishing  and  desiring  in  Print  that  such  a  one 
would  undertake  it,  and  then  no  one  should  sooner  come  into  it  and 
pay  more  Yearly  to  cany  it  on  than  this  Publisher,  and  none  appearing 
then,  nor  since,  (others  being  judges)  to  excell  him  in  their  perform- 
ances, made  him  to  continue.  And  our  New  Publisher  being  a  SchoUer 
and  Master,  he  should  (me  thinks)  have  given  us  (whom  he  terms  low, 
flat  and  dull)  Admonition  and  told  one  and  the  other  wherein  our  Dul- 
ness  lay,  (that  we  might  be  better  Proficients  for  the  future.  Whither 
in  reading,  hearing,  or  pains  taking,  to  write,  gather,  collect  and  insert 
the  Publick  Occurrences)  before  publick  Censure,  and  a  good  example 
to  copy  and  write  after,  and  not  tell  us  and  the  World  at  his  first  setting 
out,  that  he'll  be  like  us  in  doing  as  we  have  done.  Tarpe  est  Doctori 
cum  culpa  redarguit  ipsum.  And  now  all  my  Latin  being  spent  except- 
ing what  I  design  always  to  remember  Nemo  sine  crimine  vivit.  I  pro- 
mise for  my  part  so  soon  as  he  or  any  SchoUer  will  Undertake  my  hitherto 
Task,  and  Endeavours,  giving  proof  that  he  will  not  be  very,  very  Dull, 
I  shall  not  only  desist  for  his  Advantage,  but  also  so  far  as  capable 
Assist  such  a  good  Scribe. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  early  numbers  of  Frank- 
lin's paper  are  not  to  be  found,  and  that  no  trace  can  be 
discovered  of  either  the  address,  which  called  forth  the 
defence  of  Campbell,  or  Franklin's  reply,  which  appeared 
in  the  Courant  of  the  next  week.  That  his  reply  was 
caustic  and  severe  is  evident  from  Campbell's  rejoinder, 
which  came  out  in  the  News-Letter  of  August  28,  as 
follows  :  — 


10  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 

Uy^  J.  C  to  Jack  Dullman  Mnddh  Greeting. 

Sir,  What  yoii  rail  a  Satyrif-al  A'Iv(;rfistTnent  was  a  just  Vin'lira- 
tion  of  my  iNcws-Lcittcr,  from  some  unfair  Itcflections,  in  your  Introfluc- 
tion  to  your  first  Courant ;  Your  reply  in  holiling  Verse,  ha'l  tliey  rnorc 
Rca«on  and  Icsn  liailin)^  mif^ht  possibly  have  inclined  mc  to  tliiiik  you 
•wm  Homc  Man  of  (i^cat  Lcaminf^,  or  a«  you  plea.se  to  Word  it,  a 
Mflkle  Man ;  but  Kailery  is  the  talent  of  a  mean  Spirit,  and  not  to  be 
returned  by  mc.  In  honour  to  the  Muses  I  dare  not  acknowledge  your 
Poem  to  1)C  from  Paniassus ;  but  a.s  a  little  before  the  Composure  you 
had  been  IJakeing  in  tlic  Dun^'hiil,  its  more  prolml)le  the  corrupt  Steams 
jfot  into  your  Hrairis,  and  your  Dullcold  Skul  prccijiitatc  them  into  I{i- 
bajrlry.  I  oliserve  you  »rc  not  always  the  same,  your  History  of  Inoru- 
hi(ion  intends  the  I'ubiick  Good,*  but  your  Letter  to  Mr-  Compton  and 
lihymc  to  mc  smell  mon'  of  the  Ale  'J'ub  than  the  Lamp.  I  do  not 
envy  your  skill  in  Anatomy,  and  your  accurate  discovery  of  the  Gall 
JJIaddcr,  nor  your  C]eojrra[ihy  of  the  Dunj;hill  (luildli'  solum.)  You  say 
your  Ale  (^rows  better,  but  have  a  care  you  do  not  liottle  it  too  New, 
Lest  the  IJottles  fly  and  wet  your  ToyeH.  You  say  you  are  the  Wise- 
man, and  his  Advice  is,  Prov.  xxvi.  Ver.  4  Answer  not  afoot  accordinrj 
to  hig  fol/i/,  IcM  ihon  lie.  lihf  unto  him.  And  not  very  disagreeable  to  what 
I  learned  when  a  School  IJoy. 

Contra  vrrlioHfiH,  noli  mntendirc  rorhh. 

Against  a  man  of  wind  spend  not  thy  Breath. 
Therefore  i  conclude  with  Vnrbum  Siipienti, 

Tilt  ins  rM,  i(/itur  Jictis  contendere  verbis, 

Qiiam  piiipiarn  mtinn  Vale. 

Since  like  the  Indian  Natives,  you  Delight, 
to  Murder  in  the  Dark,  eshuii  and  fly  the  light, 

Farcwel. 

This  (|ii;irn'l,  in  which  thi;  ill-lcmper  was  probably  all 
on  one  siclo,  and  the  lauj^hter  and  fun  on  the  other,  doubt- 
less added  popularity  to  both  papers.  A  certain  portion 
of  readers  liavc^  always  appeared  to  enjoy  the  quarrels 
of  editors.  'J'h;it  th(!  piihlie  rend  with  avidity,  —  some- 
times with  insatiable  f^reediness,  —  the  controversies, 
which  happen  amonf^  the  confliictors  of  newspapers,  at 
th(^   present     day,   is   a    fact   too    notorious   to  need   any 

*  TlioCoiirmil  sirotigly  "pposctl  inoculating  fur  tho  mnmll  pox. 


JOHN    CAMPBELL.  11 

illustrative  evidence.  The  propensity  was,  probably,  no 
weaker  in  the  days  of  Campbell  and  Franklin. 

While  this  controversy  continued,  N\hich  was  about 
two  months,  Campbell  issued  a  whole  sheet  every  week, 
after  which  the  News-Letter  was  reduced  to  its  original 
dimensions.  The  nick-name,  Jack  Dull  man,  was  proba- 
bly used  by  Campbell  as  a  retort  upon  Franklin,  for  say- 
ing that  the  News-Letter  was  "  dull,  very  dull." 

The  files  of  the  News-Letter,  down  to  the  end  of  the 
year  1722,  —  when  Bartholomew  Green  became  its  pro- 
prietor,—  are  very  imperfect.  The  most  complete,  that 
I  have  been  able  to  find,  are  those  in  the  Library  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  —  and  these  are  all 
bound  in  two  volumes,  —  embracing  not  half  the  num- 
bers for  the  years  previous  to  1720.  It  is  not  probable 
that  the  missing  numbers  differ  essentially  in  the  charac- 
ter of  their  contents  from  those,  which  are  preserved. 
Extracts  from  English  papers  are  the  principal  material. 
It  was  undoubtedly  the  intention  of  Campbell  to  present 
a  connected  narrative  of  the  most  important  political 
events  in  Europe  ;  and  this  intention  he  apparently  ful- 
filled, as  far  as  the  limits  of  his  paper  allowed.  The 
intercourse  between  this  country  and  Europe  not  being 
carried  on  with  much  reguhirity,  the  intelligence  was 
seldom  imparted  to  his  readers,  till  some  months  after 
the  transactions,  that  formed  its  basis.  The  first  number 
of  the  paper,  April  24,  1704,  contained  accounts  of  the 
movements  of  the  Jacobites  in  Scotland,  in  November, 
1703,  and  the  speech  of  Queen  Anne  to  Parliament,  in 
relation  to  the  designs  of  the  Pretender,  delivered  Decem- 
ber 17,  1703.  The  narrative  of  the  wars  in  Europe  during 
the  reign  of  Anne,  and  loyal  addresses  from  various  cities. 


12  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 

boroughs,  and  corporations,  with  her  "most  gracious" 
replies,  are  prominent  articles  in  many  numbers  of  the 
paper.  Indeed,  almost  every  important  state  paper, 
issued  by  the  government  of  Great-Britain,  may  be  found 
in  the  News-Letter. 

The  domestic  affiiirs  of  the  colonies  occupy  but  a 
small  space.  Arrivals  and  clearances  at  the  principal 
ports,  and  the  "  remarkable  occurrences  "  of  the  times, 
are  generally  comprised  in  a  few  lines.  Occasionally, 
however,  we  find  an  incident  related  in  a  style,  adapted 
to  gratify  the  lovers  of  the  marvelous.  The  two,  which 
follow,  are  presumed  to  be  the  composition  of  the  editor, 
and  to  exemplify  a  remark  before  made  concerning  his 
literary  acquirements.  The  first  is  from  the  News- 
Letter  of  May  8,  1704  :  — 

Pisciitaijiia,  April  29.  By  Lcttci-s  thence,  aeqnninted,  that  on  Frvday 
the  28,  four  Indians  Seized  a  Servant  Maid  of  Richard  II  aWro/i's,  Esq. 
at  Cocheco,  who  went  about  I.'')!)  yards  from  the  Ganison  to  a  Spring, 
for  a  Jugg  of  Water,  al)ont  half  an  hour  after  Sun  down  :  Supposed  to 
be  the  same  Indians  that  did  the  mischief  mentioned  in  my  last,  upon 
Nathanael  Meader  and  Edward  Tai/lor :  They  askt  her  many  QuestioTis ; 
Viz — Whither  there  was  not  a  French  Shallop  put  on  Shear  in  New- 
Encjland  in  a  Storm  ?  And  what  was  become  of  the  Frenchmen  ? 
Whither  or  not  we  had  any  Forces  going  out  against  the  French  ? 
What  number  of  Souldiers  was  in  the  Gan-ison  1  What  Jlr.  Waldron 
had  been  doing  in  his  Field  all  day  ?  What  he  designed  to  do  v  ith 
that  new  Timber  hal'd  to  the  side  of  his  House  ?  The}-  told  her  that 
they  had  lyen  near  his  House  all  that  day,  and  a  week  before  to  wait  to 
catch  him,  whom  they  saw  to  pass  over  his  Boom  towards  Capt.  Geer- 
ishes  two  Houses,  by  Sun-set ;  and  that  they  might  take  him  on  his 
return,  they  had  crept  down  to  the  foot  of  the  Boom,  as  near  as  possi- 
ble :  at  which  time  the  Maid  came  along,  and  were  forced  to  take  her, 
othenvise  they  must  have  been  discovered  :  They  told  her  also  that  they 
had  been  so  near  liim  in  the  Field,  that  one  of  them  had  cock'd  his  Gun 
at  him,  and  going  to  discharge,  another  perswaded  him  to  forbear,  he 
would  presently  have  a  better  Shot  at  him :  They  likewise  told  her 
'twas  never  the  near  for  him  to  build  his  New  Fortifications  round  his 


JOHN    CAMPBELL.  13 

Hoiise,  for  they  TS'onld  certainly  take  him,  and  that  'twere  in  Vain  foi" 
him  to  Plant  his  New  Orchard  in  his  Field,  for  he  shoiild  neither  eat  the 
apples,  nor  drink  the  Cyder,  for  that  they  would  have  him  by  &  by,  and 
roast  him,  and  She  should  see  it.  In  the  Interim  Mi-.  Waldro7i  coming 
over  the  Boom ;  the  Watchman  on  the  Top  of  his  House,  not  knowing 
who  it  was,  call'd  out,  Stand ;  which  the  Indians  hearing,  being  fright- 
ened ran  aU  away,  one  stept  back  and  with  the  head  of  his  Hatchet, 
knock't  the  Girl  down,  and  left  her  for  Dead,  who  lay  in  the  Spot  two 
Hours,  till  being  found  wanting,  was  enquir'd  after  and  search'd  for  at 
the  spring,  where  she  was  found,  a  little  come  to  her  self;  hope  she  may 
do  well,  for  her  skull  is  not  broke.  Thus  ^Ix.  Waldron  naiTOwly 
escap'd. 

A  manuscript  note,  attached  to  this  article,  says,  — 
"  This  was  a  story  invented  by  the  girl  to  conceal  her 
staying  too  long  at  the  spring  with  a  young  man."  This 
note  appears  to  be  in  the  hand-writing  of  the  late  Rev. 
Dr.  Eliot,  by  whose  family  the  volume  of  the  News- 
Letter,  now  before  me,  was  presented  to  the  Library  of 
the  Historical  Society. 

Here  follows  a  recital  of  "  moving  accidents,  by  flood 
and  field,"  which  appears  to  be  an  editorial  composition, 
standing  under  ^'•Boston,  May   15." 

On  the  11. 'Currant  An-ived  Mr.  Jacob  Fowle  of  MarbJehead^  at  Ston- 
ingtown,  in  a  small  Sloop,  about  22  days' from  Curaso:  he  was  lately  an 
Apprentice  to  Mr.  Biiljinch  Sail-maker  of  Boston ;  went  out  some  1 2 
Months  ago,  in  one  Reddinton  from  Rhode-Island^  for  Curaso,  in  order 
to  go  a  Privateering  when  they  (;ame  there  :  the  Governour  broke  their 
measures,  the  men  Shipt  themselves  some  one  way  and  some  another, 
his  Lot  was  to  go  on  board  a  Dutch  man,  bound  for  to  trade  with  the 
Spaniards,  in  a  Ketch  of  10  Guns.  A  Spaniard  met  them,  kill'd  the 
Dutch  Lieutenant.  The  Master,  Merchant  and  others  upon  it  jumpt 
into  the  hole,  before  the  Spaniard  so  much  as  boarded  them ;  and  if 
they  had  fouglit  need  not  have  been  taken.  When  they  were  carryed 
into  New  Spain,  where  he  was  about  9  Months,  all  the  men  were  sent  to 
the  Mines,  he  being  Sick  was  spared ;  and  when  somewhat  recovered, 
the  Governour  of  the  place,  wanting  a  Sute  of  Sails  to  be  made  for  a 
Sloop,  hearing  he.  was  a  Sail-maker,  put  him  to  make  them ;  for  which 
he  had  a  very  small  I'eward,  a  bit  of  Meat  the  breadth  of  a  mans  Finger, 
2 


14  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 

and  a  little  Cassadar  bread,  his  chief  Diet  while  in  N.  Spain  was  Oys- 
ters. A  Trader  being  bound  along  the  Coast  wanted  a  hand,  came  to 
the  Govemour  to  desire  the  English  man,  and  promised  to  return  him 
again,  when  he  came  back  ;  't  was  granted  :  So  Mr.  Fowle  went  along 
with  him,  and  coming  into  a  certain  Port  where  a  French  man  of  War 
lay  ;  he  went  on  board,  and  met  another  English  man,  to  wliom  he  said, 
that  if  he  would  go  along  with  him,  ho  would  come  for  him  in  the  Night, 
and  would  carry  him  ofl',  't  was  agreed,  the  other  should  l)e  in  the  Lyon 
in  the  head,  and  he  should  come  witli  his  Canoo,  and  take  him  in ;  and 
they  two  should  knock  the  Spaniards  of  the  Barque  alongo  in  the  head, 
and  come  away  with  her,  and  accordingly  he  took  tlic  Canoo  in  the 
night,  when  the  Spaniard  was  asleep,  and  put  in  her  two  Guns,  two 
Cutlaccs  and  2  Pistols,  took  the  Ancient  for  a  Sayl  and  Sails  to  the 
Man  of  War ;  the  Watch  on  board  was  too  quick-siglited  for  him,  espied 
'em,  and  was  forced  to  paddle  back  again  with  all  his  might,  put  the 
Ancient  in  his  place.  The  Spaniards  still  asleep  knew  nothing  of  it. 
In  some  short  time  afterwards,  the  Spaniards  going  all  ashore  leaving 
him  and  a  Spanish  Indian  on  board,  he  stept  and  unloos'd  the  Sails  of 
the  Barque  alongo,  told  the  Indian  if  he  would  go  along  with  him  might 
go  &  should  fare  well,  he  said  still  no  no,  &  went  to  take  up  a  Hand- 
spoke  to  knock  out  Mr.  Fowls  s  brains,  in  the  interim  Mr.  Fowls  tript  up 
his  heels  &  threw  him  Over-board,  &  ])ut  to  sea ;  the  Spaniards  on  Shoar 
Man'd  their  Canoo  to  overtake  him,  came  up  with  him :  The  Boat- 
swain first  put  his  hand  upon  the  Barquc-alongo,  &  Mr.  Fowle  stab'd 
him  and  he  fell  backwards,  the  Captain  seeing  that,  said,  put  off;  the 
Fort  fired  several  shot  at  him,  some  whereof  came  thro'  his  Sayls. 
They  also  Man'd  a  Parriagur  after  him,  &  pursued  him  about  8  hours 
till  midnight ;  but  having  a  fair  wind,  in  about  two  days,  got  safe  into 
Curaso  about  70  Leagues  distant  from  the  Port  in  Netv  Spain  he  came 
from,  having  on  Board  about  19000  of  Cocoa:  The  Lieut.  Gov.  of 
Curasso  forgave  him  the  Custom  of  it,  saying  he  well  deserved  it.  He 
sold  his  vessel  &  Cargo  there :  And  bought  the  Sloop  in  which  he  came 
home  in ;  he  met  with  a  violent  Storm  the  4  instant.  He  says  that  of 
late  the  Spaniards  kill  all  the  English  they  take,  but  saves  the  Dutch 
alive. 

The  News-Letter  of  June  5  contains  Governor  Dud- 
ley's Proclamation,  requiring  all  officers,  citizens,  Sic, 
"  of  Her  Majesty's  Loving  Subjects,"  to  apprehend  and 
seize  certain  Pirates.  Captain  Quelch,  the  comnaander 
of  a  brigantine,  had  committed  a  piracy  on  a  Portuguese 


JOHN    CAMPBELL.      •  15 

merchantman,  and,  with  several  of  his  crew,  was  then 
in  custody  in   Boston.     More  of  the  crew  were  after- 
wards   taken    at    Gloucester    and    the    Isle   of    Shoals. 
Quelch,  \\  ith  six  of  his  men,  was  tried  at  Boston,  and 
all  were  convicted  and  sentenced  to  be  hung.      A  sheet, 
which  appears  to  have  been  printed  as  a  supplement  to 
the  News-Letter,  contains  "  An  account  of  the  Behaviour 
and  last  Dying  Speeches  of  John  Quelch,  John  Lam- 
bert,   Christopher    Scudamore,    John    Miller,     Eramus 
Peterson  and  Peter  Roach,   the  six  Pirates  that  were 
executed  on   Charles   River,   Boston  side,   on   Friday, 
June  30th,  1704."     The  account  states  that  the  minis- 
ters of  the  town  had  used  more  than  ordinary  endeavors 
to  instruct  the  prisoners  and  bring  them  to  repentance. 
"  There  were  sermons  preached  in  their  hearing  every 
day  —  and  prayers  daily   made  with  them.     And  they 
were  catechised  and  had  occasional  exhortations."     It 
further  states  that,  on  the   morning  of    the   execution, 
"  they  were  guarded  from  the  prison  in  Boston  by  forty 
musketeers,  constables  of  the  town,  the  provost  marshal, 
and  his  officers,  &c.,  with  two  ministers,  who  took  great 
pains  to  prepare  them  for  the  last  article  of  their  lives. 
Being   allowed  to  walk   on   foot   through   the   town   to 
Scarlett's   Wharf;   where  the   Silver  oar  being  carried 
before  them  ;  they  were  conveyed  by  water  to  the  place 
of  execution,"  Stc.     The  "  exhortations  to  the  malefac- 
tors "  and  the  prayer  made  by  one  of  the  ministers,  after 
the  pirates  were  on  the  scaffold,  "  as  near  as  it  could  be 
taken  in  writing  in  the  great  crowd,"  fill  near  half  of 
the  paper.     On  "going  up  the  stage,  Quelch  said  to  one 
of  the  ministers,  "  I  am  not  afraid  of  death.     I  am  not 
afraid  of  the  gallows :  but  I  am  afraid  of  what  follows. 


16  BOSTON     NEWS-LETTER. 

I  am  afraid  of  a  great  God  and  a  judgment  to  come." 
But,  says  the  narrative,  "he  afterwards  seemed  to  brave 
it  out  too  much  against  that  fear."  He  pulled  off  his 
hat  and  bowed  to  the  spectators,  and  said,  "  I  desire  to 
be  informed  for  what  I  am  here."  When  Lambert  was 
warning  the  spectators  to  beware  of  bad  company, 
"  Quelch  joining,"  they  said,  "  they  should  also  take 
care  how  they  brought  money  into  New  England  to  be 
hanged  for  it."  Peterson  "  cryed  of  injustice,"  and  told 
the  executioner,  "  he  was  a  very  strong  man,  and  prayed 
to  be  put  out  of  misery  as  soon  as  possible."  The  next 
paper  states  that  "  as  they  had  led  a  wicked  and  vicious 
life,  so  to  appearance,  they  dyed  very  obdurately  and 
impenitently,  hardened  in  their  sins." 

There  are  not,  generally,  more  than  two  or  three 
advertisements  in  each  paper.  Some  of  them  are  amus- 
ing from  the  quaintness  of  their  style,  or  from  the  kind 
of  articles  advertised  for  sale.  The  following  are  speci- 
mens :  — 

A  Certain  Pei-son  has  Two  or  Three  Hundred  Pounds  to  let  at  Inter- 
est, for  good  Security ;  Inquire  at  the  Post-office  In  Conihill,  Boston,  and 
knoAv  further. 

A  Strong  Lusty  white  Sen-ant  Maids'  Time  for  ahout  three  years 
and  a  half,  fit  for  any  Household  Service,  to  be  disposed  of  by  IMr.  John 
Edwards,  Goldsmith  in  Comhill,  Boston. 

Bi/  Order  of  the  Post  Master  General  of 
North- America. 
These  are  to  give  Notice,  2' hat  on  Monday  Night  the  Sixth  of  this  Instant 
December,  The  Western  Post  heticecn  Boston  and  New-York,  sets  out  once 
a  Fortnight  the  Three  Winter  Months  of  December,  January  and  Febniary, 
and  to  go  Alternately  from  Boston  to  Saybrook  and  Hartford,  to  Exchange 
the  Mayle  of  Letters  icith  the  New- York  Ryder,  the  First  Turn  for  Saj'- 
Brook,  to  meet  the  New- York  Ryder  on  Saturday  Night  the  11th  Cxirrant. 
And  the  Second  Turn  he  sets  otjt  at  Boston,  on  Monday  Night  the  20tk 


JOHN    CAMPBELL. 


w. 


Currant  to  meet  the  New- York  Ryder  at  Hartford  on  Saturday  Night  the 
25th  Currant,  to  Exchange  Mayles. 

And  all  Persons  that  sends  Letters  from  Boston  to  Connecticxit,  from 
and  after  the  I3th  Instant,  are  hereby  Notified,  first  to  pay  the  Portage  on 
the  same. 

These  are  to  desire  a  certain  woman  that  convey'd  away  a  piece  of  fine 
Lace  of  Fourteen  Shillings  per  yard  from  a  Shop  in  Boston  about  Three 
Months  ago  to  return  the  same. 

And  of  anotlier  that  convey'd  away  a  piece  Fine  Calico  under  her 
Rj'ding-hood  some  time  since  Satisfaction  is  Demanded,  or  else  they 
may  expect  to  be  pviblickly  exposed. 

From  these  it  appears  that  the  mystery  of  shop-lifting 
was  not  unknown  here  in  former  times.  One  class  of 
advertisements  was  too  common  to  be  viewed  at  the 
present  day,  without  regret  and  mortification.  For 
example :  — 

A  Negro  man,  a  negro  woman,  and  a  negro  Girl  about  16  years  old 
to  be  sold :  Inquire  at  the  Post-office  in  Cornliill,  Boston,  and  know 
further. 

Many  of  the  historical  facts,  that  form  the  basis  of 
European  history,  during  the  reigns  of  Queen  Anne  and 
George  I.,  may  be  read  in  the  Boston  News-Letter. 
Several  papers  are  filled  with  the  despatches  of  the 
Duke  of  Marlborough.  The  funeral  ceremonies  of 
Anne,  as  observed  at  Portsmouth,  Salem,  and  Boston, 
and  the  celebration  of  the  accession  of  George,  are 
described  in  a  style  of  exquisite  loyalty. 

It  is  presumed  that  Campbell  received  but  little,  if 
any,  aid  in  the  management  of  his  paper.  The  earliest 
communication  I  have  seen,  worthy  of  notice,  is  the 
following,  published  April  18,  1721.  The  article,  to 
which  it  is  a  reply,  I  have  not  been  able  to  find. 
2* 


II 


BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 


The  Country-Man's  Answer,  to  a  Letter  Intituled,  The  Distressed 
State  of  the  Town  of  Boston  considered. 

SIR, 

I  Received  your  Letter,  and  shall  draw  up  an  Answer  to  it  at 
large,  when  I  have  a  little  Leisure  from  my  Husbandry,  and  have 
inquired  into  the  Truth  of  matters  of  Fact;  for  I  must  needs  tell  you, 
we  liave  a  gi-eat  many  Lyes  of  late  Years,  and  generally  about  this 
Season  of  the  Year,  sent  up  from  Boston,  and  with  great  Industr}-  spread 
among  us,  with  respect  to  the  State  of  Management  of  our  I'ublick 
Affairs  and  especially  a  New  Governour  being  expected  ;  and  therefore 
you  must  Excuse  us  if  we  don't  believe  every  thing  that  you  send  us, 
cither  in  Writing  or  Messages. 

I  am  truly  sorry  for  your  distressing  and  thretcning  Circumstances 
in  Boston,  tho'  I  must  needs  say,  it  is  no  more  tlian  I  have  for  some 
time  been  afraid  of,  when  I  have  seen  your  sumptuous  Buildings,  your 
gillant  Furniture,  your  Costly  Clothing,  and  the  profuscness  of  your 
Tables,  and  the  great  and  scandalous  Expence  at  Taverns,  l)esides  a 
great  deal  of  otlicr  Extravagance ;  I  have  been  always  afraid  what  the 
Consequence  of  these  things  would  be ;  and  we  are  told  that  not  only 
the  Govemment,  but  the  Ministers  of  your  ToAvn  have  with  all  Faith- 
fulness and  Seriousness  warned  you  hereof  "We  think  it  very  strange 
in  the  Country-,  that  when  the  General  Assembly  have  framed  Laws, 
for  the  good  of  the  Community  and  even  for  the  Ease  of  Debtors  to 
prevent  their  Oppression,  that  any  private  Person  should  Airaign  the 
"Wisdom  and  even  the  Justice  of  the  Lecjislattire,  this  is  such  a  practice 
as  never  was  attempted  before,  and  we  suppose  will  not  l)e  counte- 
nanced. 

As  to  Silver  and  Gold  we  never  had  much  of  it  in  the  Country ;  but 
we  can  verj-  well  remember,  that  before  we  had  Paper  Money,  there  was 
a  sufficiency  of  it  Currant  in  the  Country ;  and  as  the  Bills  of  Credit, 
came  in  and  multiplied,  the  Silver  ceased  and  was  gone ;  and  of  all 
Men,  you  in  Boston,  especially  the  Merchants,  should  be  silent  as  to  that 
matter,  for  you  have  shipp'd  it  off,  and  yet  now  complain  of  the  want 
of  it. 

As  to  the  Publiek  Loans  or  Bank  as  you  call  it,  all  the  "World  knows 
that  the  General  Assembly,  especially  the  Country  part  had  never 
thought  of  or  consented  to  it,  had  it  not  been  on  the  great  Sollieitation 
and  i)ressing  Importunity  of  the  Trading  part ;  and  yet  now  you 
Arraign  their  Wisdom  and  even  their  Goodness,  this  must  be  lookt  on 
as  high  Ingratitude.  AVe  are  very  much  surprized,  you  should  Rake 
into  the  Ashes  of  the  Private  Bank  Projection,  that  has  l)ecn  buried  so 
many  Years ;  you  cannot  but  remember  that  not  only  the  General 


JOHN    CAMPBELL.  19 

« 

Assembly,  upon  the  most  mature  deliberation,  solemnly  protested 
against  any  such  thing ;  but  even  your  own  Town  of  Boston,  at  such  a 
Meeting  as  we  understand  they  scarce  ever  had  before,  by  a  great 
Majority  utterly  refused  it.  It  is  too  large  a  Field  to  enter  upon  in  a 
short  Letter,  to  recite  the  endless  Mischiefs  and  Confusion  that  Projec- 
tion would  have  involv'd  us  in ;  and  we  and  our  Posterity  shall  have 
reason  to  be  thankful,  that  we  were  delivered  from  it. 

As  to  your  Project  of  Building  of  Bridges,  Fortifications  and  other- 
ways  of  laying  out  Money,  one  would  not  think  by  this  Paragraph  of 
your  Letter,  that  your  Circumstances  were  so  Distressing  as  you  pre- 
tend to. 

We  understand  the  Province  is  now  in  Debt,  1.60000  and  you  would 
have  it  run  1.100000  more  in  Debt,  and  say  it  will  be  for  our  Advan- 
tage. 

This  is  what  we  cannot  Comprehend.  It  should  seem  to  us  not  only 
just  to  pay  our  Debts  ;  but  even  Wise  and  Prudent  for  the  Country  to 
clear  the  old  Score,  before  we  begin  a  new  one ;  and  I  suppose  it  will 
be  very  difficult  to  perswade  the  Government  into  any  such  Projection : 
If  the  Building  a  Bridge  to  Charhtown  be  of  such  weighty  profit,  I 
believe  the  Country  would  rather  private  Persons  should  undertake, 
and  run  the  Bisque,  and  have  the  Benefits,  than  involve  the  Govern- 
ment in  so  chargable  and  dangerous  a  thing,  and  which  is  thought  by 
some  Impracticable. 

Your  Advice  as  to  setting  up  and  encouraging  Manufactures  we  very 
much  approve  of;  and  you  may  depend  ui)on  it,  we  in  the  Country 
shall,  with  the  Favour  of  GOD  raise  our  ovra  Provisions,  and  wear 
Clothing  of  our  own  making  as  far  as  possible  and  live  out  of  De])t. 

I  am  much  mistaken  if  His  Excellency  the  Govemour  and  Council 
give  you  any  Thanks  for  these  few  Sugar  Plumbs  you  are  pleased  to 
sweeten  them  with,  when  you  so  much  affront  them  in  their  Pulilick 
Administration. 

As  to  your  Advice  about  the  choice  of  our  Representatives,  which 
seems  the  main  Spring  and  design  of  your  Letter,  we  shall  endeavour 
to  choose  Men  of  a  Pulilick  Spirit  that  understand  and  design  the  good 
of  the  Country  in  General,  Men  of  good  Substance  and  Interest  in  the 
Country,  Men  well  affected  to  our  great  Master  King  GEOEGE,  tlie 
Religion  Government  and  Liberties  of  New-Enghnd,  Men  that  will  take 
care  to  ease  the  Debts  of  the  Province ;  and  not  run  us  further  into 
Debt,  Men  of  Virtue  and  Peaceable  Dispositions ;  and  we  earnestly 
hope  your  People  in  Boston  will  make  the  same  choice,  that  so  we  may 
have  a  good  and  wise  Election,  and  a  Peaceable  and  happy  Session,  and 
the  General  Assembly  have  the  Divine  Conduct  and  Blessing  on  all 


20  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 

their  Arduous  Affairs  ;  and  the  w  hole  Country'  be  under  the  Protection 
and  Encouragement  they  Enjoy  leading  quiet  and  peaceable  Lives  in 
all  Godliness  and  Honesty. 

And  I  am 

SIR 

your  assured  Friend. 

As  a  memorial  of  the  pious  liberality  of  the  age,  the 
following  communication  from  a  gentleman  of  Providence 
is  not  destitute  of  interest :  — 


THESE  arc  to  give  Notice,  That  whereas  there  arc  in  the  Colony  of 
Rhode-I!^land  Providence  Plantations,  sundry'  Congregations  of  Differ- 
ent Perswasions,  besides  tlie  Churcli  of  England,  and  a  Congregational 
Meeting-IIouse  at  New-Port:  Several  well-disposed  Inhabitants  of 
Providence  (differing  in  their  Opinions  from  the  rest  of  their  Neigh- 
bours in  that  great  To\\ti  ;  being  a  thorow  fair  to  the  Neighbouring 
Colonies,  where  Travellers  often  lodge  on  the  Lord's  Day)  and  not 
being  able  of  themselves,  to  l>ulld  a  Mccting-IIouse,  for  GOD'S  Wor- 
sliip  to  be  performed  in,  by  an  Orthodox  Minister  of  the  Congrega- 
tional or  Presbiterian  Perswasion,  both  for  their  own  and  Strangers 
accommodation,  A  Gentleman  of  the  said  Town  and  Perswasion  (with 
the  Advice  and  Consent  of  the  others,  and  Approbation  of  sundry 
Able,  Pious  and  Grave  Ministers  of  the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay)  took  upon  himself  the  Toil  and  Labour  of  going  from  place  to 
place,  both  in  this  Province  and  Rhode-Island  Government,  to  gather 
and  collect  every  Pious  Soul's  Voluntary  Contributions,  in  order  to 
forward  so  good  and  Christian  a  Work  ;  which  thro'  Mercy  {Imus  Deo) 
has  been  so  far  advanced  and  accomidishcd  by  John  Ilof/Ie  Physician  of 
the  said  Town,  that  on  Wednesday  the  fifth  of  this  Instant  September ; 
tlie  said  Mccting-IIouse  was  Amicably  Raised  there,  for  which  the  said 
Jfo(jIe  hereby  desires  in  his  own  and  the  others  Names,  to  render  many 
Thanks  to  the  Honourable  and  AVorthy  Gentlemen  and  other  Pious 
People,  that  by  their  Charity  lent  their  helping  Hand,  so  far  as  to  ena- 
ble him  and  them  to  Effect  and  Perfomi  this  good  piece  of  Service,  for 
the  further  advancing,  promoting,  and  enlarging  of  the  glorious  Gospel 
and  Kingdom  of  our  Dear  Lord  and  Saviour  JESUS  CHRIST. 

In   1721,  there  was  great  excitement  in  Boston,  on 
account  of  the  small-pox,  and  the  attempt  to  introduce 


JOHN     CAMPBELL.  21 

the  practice  of  inoculation.  "  At  a  town-meeting,  held  on 
the  fourth  of  November,  it  was  voted,  That  whosoever 
shall  come  into  this  town  of  Boston  from  any  other 
town  presumptuously,  to  bring  the  small-pox  on  him  or 
herself,  or  be  inoculated,  shall  be  forthwith  sent  to  the 
hospital  or  pest-house,  unless  they  see  cause  to  depart  to 
their  own  homes  ;  —  or  if  any  person  be  found  in  town 
under  that  operation,  which  may  be  an  occasion  of  con- 
tinuing a  malignant  infection,  and  increasing  it  amongst 
us,  that  they  be  removed  immediately,  lest  by  allowing 
this  practice,  the  town  be  made  an  hospital  for  that 
which  may  prove  worse  than  the  small-pox,  which  hath 
already  put  so  many  into  mourning.  And  that  the  jus- 
tices and  selectmen  be  desired  to  put  the  method  above 
said  into  practice,  without  delay,  as  the  law  directs." 

The  Rev.  Increase  IMather  and  his  son,  the  Rev. 
Cotton  Mather,  were  in  favor  of  inoculation.  Franklin 
and  the  correspondents  of  the  Courant  opposed  it,  and 
assailed  those  clergymen,  in  that  paper,  with  merciless 
ridicule.  The  following  communication  in  the  News- 
Letter  of  August  28,  two  weeks  after  the  first  number 
of  the  Courant  was  published,  was  attributed  to  Cotton 
Mather,  and  probably  not  without  reason  :  — 


To  the  Author  of  the  Boston  News-Letter. 
SIR, 

For  Pnlilick  Use,  we  desire  the  favour  of  you  to  give  this  a  place 
iu  j'our  Intelligencer,  Remembering  that  some  Weeks  past,  you  enter- 
tained your  Readers  with  a  sad  Account  of  a  scandalous  Club,  set  up 
in  London  ;  to  Insult  the  most  sacred  Principles  of  the  Christian  Reli- 
gion, tending  to  corrupt  the  Minds  and  Morals  of  the  People  ;  Against 
whom  the  I^ng  in  Council  gave  strict  Command  and  Orders  for  dis- 
covering, prosecuting  and  severely  punishing  any  that  are  found  guilty 
of  such  Impieties. 


22  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 

And  for  a  Lamentation  to  our  amazement  (notwithstanding  of 
GOD'S  hand  against  us,  in  His  Visitation  of  the  Small-Pox  in  Boston, 
and  the  threatening  Aspect  of  the  "Wet- Weather)  we  find  a  Notorious, 
Scandalous  Paper,  called  the  Couraiit,  full  freighted  -nith  Nonsense, 
Uumanliness,  Railcry,  Prophaneness,  Immorality,  Arrogance,  Calum- 
nies, Lyes,  Contradictions,  and  what  not,  all  tending  to  QuaiTcls  and 
Divisions,  and  to  Dehauch  and  Corrupt  the  Minds  and  Manners  of 
New-England.  And  what  likewise  trouhles  us  is,  That  it  goes  Currant 
among  the  People,  that  the  Practitioners  of  Physick  in  Boston,  who 
exert  themselves  in  discovering  the  evil  of  Inoculation  and  its  Tenden- 
cies (several  of  whom  we  know  to  be  Gentlemen  by  Birth,  Education, 
Probity  and  Good  Manners,  that  abhors  any  ill  Action)  are  said  estecm'd 
and  reputed  to  be  the  Authors  of  that  Flagitious  and  Wicked  Paper ; 
who  we  hope  and  trust  will  clear  themselves  off  and  from  the  Imputa- 
tion, else  People  will  take  it  for  granted,  they  are  a  New  Club  set  up  in 
New-England,  like  to  that  in  our  Mother  England,  whom  we  sincerely 
and  heartily  admonish  warn  and  advise,  not  only  to  remember  Lot's 
Wife ;  but  also  what  befell  several  of  the  Club  in  England  ;  (which  we 
forbear  to  name)  lest  their  Bands  be  made  strong,  and  a  worse  thing 
befall  thcra. 

And  will  oblige  them  who  arc, 

Your  Friends  and  Well- 
Wishers  to  our  Country  and 
all  Good  Men. 

Among    the    advertisements   in    the    News-Letter  of 
November  21,  is  the  following  :  — 

To  prevent  wrong  Representations  that  may  be  made  of  a  late  Atrful  and 
Tremendous  Ocairrence  fallen  out  in  Boston,  it  was  thought  Jit  to  give  this 
true  nnd  shoii  Account  of  it. 

At  the  House  of  the  Reverend  Dr.  Cotton  Mather,  there  lodged  his 
Kinsman,  a  worthy  Minister  under  the  Snudl-Pox,  received  and  man- 
aged in  the  way  of  Inoculation.  Towards  Three  of  the  Clock  in  the 
Night,  as  it  grew  towards  the  Morning  of  Tuesday  the  Fourteenth  of 
this  Instant  November,  some  unkno^vn  Hands  threw  a  Fired  Granado 
into  the  Chamber  of  the  Sick  Gentleman :  The  weight  whereof  alone, 
if  it  had  fallen  upon  the  Head  of  the  Patient  (which  it  seemed  aimed 
at)  would  have  been  enough  to  have  done  part  of  the  Business  designed. 
But  the  Granado  was  charged  with  Combustible  matter,  and  in  such  a 
manner,  that  upon  its  going  off,  it  must  probably  have  killed  the  Per- 
sons in  the  Room,  and  would  have  certainly  fired  the  Chamber  &  soou 


BARTHOLOMEW    GREEN.  23 

have  laid  the  House  in  Ashes,  wliich  has  appcar'd  Iiicontestible  to  them 
that  have  since  Examined  it.  But  the  Merciful  Providence  of  GOD  so 
ordered  it,  that  the  Granado  passing  through  the  "Window,  had  by  the 
Iron  in  the  Middle  of  the  Casement,  such  a  Turn  given  to  it,  that  in 
falling  on  the  Floor,  the  Fired  AVild-Fire  in  the  Fuse  was  silently  sha- 
ken out  some  Distance  from  the  Shell,  and  burned  out  upon  the  Floor, 
■without  firing  the  Granado.  When  the  Granado  was  taken  up,  there 
was  found  a  Paper  so  tied  with  Thread  about  the  Fuse,  that  it  miglit 
outlive  the  breaking  of  the  Shell ;  wherein  were  these  Words  :  COT- 
TON MATHER.     I  icas  once  one  of  your  Meeting:  But  the  Cursed  Lye 

you  told  of You  know  who,  made  me  leave  You,  You  Dog, 

And  Damn  You,  I  ivill  Inoculate  You  with  this,  ivith  a  Pox  to  You.  This 
is  the  Sum  of  the  Matter,  without  any  Rtinarhs  upon  it. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  1722,  Campbell  gave  up  his 

property  in  the  News-Letter  to  Green,  —  as  appears  by 

the  following  advertisement,  published  in  the  paper  of 

December  31. 

*^*  These  are  to  give  Notice,  That  Mr.  Campbell,  Designing  not  to 
Publish  any  more  News-Letters,  after  this  Monday  the  31st  CuiTant, 
Bai-tholomew  Green  the  Printer  thereof  for  these  18  Years  past,  ha\'ing 
had  Experience  of  his  Practice  therein ;  intends  (Life  permitted)  to 
carry  on  the  same,  (using  his  Method  on  the  Ai'rival  of  Vessels  from 
Great  Britain,  &c.,  to  give  a  Summary  of  the  most  Remarkable  Occur- 
rences of  Europe,  and  afterwards  the  Thread  of  the  News,)  provided  he 
can  have  due  Encouragement  by  competent  Numbers  taking  it  by  the 
Year,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  defray  the  necessary  Charges.  And  all 
those  who  have  a  Mind  (either  in  Town  or  Country)  to  Promote  and 
Encourage  the  Continuation  of  the  abovesaid  Intelligence,  are  hereby 
desired  to  Agi-ee  ■with  the  said  Green,  either  by  Word  or  Writing ;  who 
may  have  it  on  reasonable  Terms,  left  at  any  House  in  To^wti,  Sealed  or 
Unsealed. 

This   notice   was   republished    the   next    week,    with 

this  addition  : — 

This  being  the  first  of  a  New  Year,  it  is  sent  at  Present  to  such  as  bespoke 
the  Publisher  for  it,  and  those  who  had  it  last  year  from  Mr.  Campbell,  who 
if  any  of  them  are  not  willing  it  should  be  continued  to  them,  are  hereby 
desired  to  return  this. 

Bartholomew  Green  began  his  career,  as  publisher  and 
editor  of  the  News-Letter,  with  an  intention  of  making 


24  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 

it  a  correct  source  of  intelligence,  and  of  giving  it  a 
moral  and  religious  character.  His  third  number,  January 
21,  has  the  following  notice  on  the  first  column  : 

An  Advertisement  from  the  Puhlisher. 
It  being  my  Desire  to  make  this  as  profitable  and  entertaining  to  the 
good  people  of  this  country  as  I  can.  I  propose  to  give  not  only  the 
most  material  articles  of  intelligence,  both  foreign  and  domestic,  which 
concern  the  political  state  of  the  world  ;  but  also  because  this  is  a  coun- 
try, that  has  yet,  through  the  mercy  of  God,  mdny  people  in  it,  that 
have  the  State  of  religion  in  the  world  very  much  at  heart,  and  would 
be  glad,  if  they  knew  how  to  order  their  prayers  and  praises  to  the 
Great  God  thereupon,  I  .shall  endeavour,  now  and  then,  to  insert  an 
article  upon  the  state  of  religion.  I  shall,  therefore,  from  time  to  time, 
wait  upon  such  as  I  may  know  to  cultivate  a  corresjjondence  with  the 
most  eminent  persons  in  several  nations,  who  may  please  to  commu- 
nicate to  me,  and  thereby  to  the  public,  such  things  as  all  good  men 
cannot  but  receive  Avith  satisfaction. 

Agreeably  to  this  declaration,  several  succeeding 
papers  contained  a  column,  selected  from  various  publi- 
cations, of  matter  concerning  the  State  of  Beligion. 
On  the  seventh  of  March,  following,  he  repeated  his 
intention,  somewhat  more  at  large,  as  follows  :  — 

HCP^"  The  design  of  this  paper  is  not  merely  to  amuse  the  reader: 
much  less  to  gratify  any  ill  tempers  by  reproach  or  ridicule,  to  promote 
contention,  or  espouse  any  party  among  us.  The  publisher,  on  the 
contrary,  laments  our  dangerous  and  unhappy  divisions ;  and  he  would 
always  approve  himself  as  a  peaceable  friend  and  ser\-ant  to  all,  and 
tmkind  to  none  :  nor  would  he  ever  render  evil  for  evil,  either  by  action, 
speaking,  or  Avriting.  He  longs  for  the  blissful  times,  when  wars  shall 
cease  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  He  would  rather  endeavor  his  utmost 
to  advance  an  universal  concord  and  harmony ;  were  it  not  for  fear  of 
adding  oil  to  the  flames  ;  and  he  remembers  the  fable,  which  shows  him 
the  danger  of  interceding  between  fierce  and  contending  enemies.  The 
publisher  would  therefore  strive  to  oblige  all  his  readers  by  publishing 
those  transactions,  that  have  no  relation  to  any  of  our  quanels,  and 
may  be  equally  entertaining  to  the  greatest  adversaries.  For  this  end 
he  proposes  to  extend  his  paper  to  The  History  of  Nature  among  tts,  as 


BARTHOLOMEW    GREEN.  »& 

■well  as  of  Political  and  Foreign  Affairs.  And  agreeable  to  this  design, 
he  desires  all  ingenious  gentlemen,  in  every  part  of  the  country,  to 
communicate  the  remarkable  things  they  observe  ;  and  he  desires  them 
to  send  their  accounts  post-free,  and  nothing  but  what  they  assuredly 
know ;  and  they  shall  be  very  gratefully  received  and  pubKshed .  That 
so  this  paper  may  in  some  degree  sers'e  for  the  Philosophical  Transac- 
tions of  New-England,  as  well  as  for  a  political  history ;  and  the  things 
worthy  of  recording  in  this,  as  well  as  other  parts  of  the  world,  may 
not  proceed  to  sink  into  eternal  oblivion,  as  they  have  done  in  all  the 
past  ages  of  the  aboriginal  and  ancient  iuliabitauts. 

Green  seldom  recorded  any  remarkable  occurrence 
that  he  did  not  accompany  the  narration  with  some 
reflections  of  a  moral  or  religious  character ;  as  in  the 
two  following  articles  :  — 

Boston,  Feb.  25.  Yesterday,  being  the  Lord's-Day,  the  Water  flowed 
over  our  Whai-ffs  and  into  oiu-  streets  to  a  very  surprizing  height.  They 
say  the  Tide  rose  20  Inches  higher  than  ever  was  kno^\-n  before.  The 
Storm  was  very  strong  at  North-East.  The  many  great  Wharffs,  which 
since  the  last  overflowing  Tydes  have  been  run  out  into  the  Harbour, 
and  fiU'd  so  great  a  part  of  the  Bason,  have  metliinks  contributed  some- 
thing not  inconsiderable  to  the  rise  of  the  Water  upon  us.  But  if  it  be 
found  that  in  other  Places  distant  from  us,  and  where  no  such  reason  as 
this  here  given  can  have  place,  the  waters  have  now  risen  in  like  pro- 
portion as  they  did  with  us ;  then  we  must  attiibute  very  little  to  the 
reason  above  suggested.  The  loss  and  damage  sustained  is  very  great, 
and  the  little  Image  of  an  Inundation  which  we  had,  look'd  very  dread- 
ful. It  had  been  a  great  favour  to  the  toivn,  if  upon  the  first  Eising  of 
the  waters  in  the  Streets,  which  hapn'd  in  the  time  of  the  Fore-noon 
Service,  some  discreet  Persons  had  in  a  grave  and  pnident  manner 
inform'd  some  or  other  of  the  Congregations  of  it;  that  such  whose 
Houses  &  Stores  lay  most  exposed  might  have  repair'd  timely  to  them. 
The  reason  in  this  case  seems  the  same  as  if  there  had  been  a  Fire  in 
the  To'Nvn.  Let  us  fear  the  GOD  of  Heaven,  who  made  the  sea  and  the 
dry  land,  who  commandeth  §~  raiseth  the  stormy  icind,  which  lifteth  up  the 
waves ;  who  ruleth  the  raging  of  the  sea,  and  when  the  leaves  thereof  arise, 
lie  stilleth  them. 

Boston,  Oct.  29,  1730. 

Last  Thursday  evening  we  had  the  most  surprizing  appearance  of 
the  Aurora  Borealis,  as  'tis  thought  was  ever  beheld  here.    At  first  it 
3 


26  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 

appeared  with  the  Xorthem  Twilight,  a  bright  flame  in  the  northern 
quarter  of  the  horizon.  About  half  an  hour  past  seven,  there  shot  up  a 
stream  which  collected  into  a  body,  and  seemed  to  hang  over  us  like  a 
cloud  of  fire.  This  lasted  a  few  minutes,  when  it  grew  fainter  till  it 
disappeared :  But  still  the  light  in  the  Korth  continued  so  bright,  that 
one  might  see  to  read  in  some  large  print.  About  nine  o'clock,  it 
increased  again,  and  the  Heavens  here  and  there  grew  luminous  and 
red.  At  twenty-four  minutes  after  nine,  a  light  was  obsen-ed  gathering 
in  the  N.  E.  which  mo^■ing  slowly  to  the  East,  began  to  glow  vcrj^  fierce. 
It  rose  leisurely,  and  at  last  crowded  into  a  centre  near  the  Zenith, 
whence  in  a  few  minutes  it  branched  out  all  over  the  northern  half  of 
the  hemisphere,  in  the  florid  and  sjjiu-kling  colors  of  many  rainbows. 
It  continued  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  shifting  its  fonn  and  colors, 
and  then  by  degrees  grew  fainter,  till  it  quite  vanished.  For  the  remain- 
der of  the  night,  a  settled  lustre  dawned  round  the  northern  edges  of  the 
hemisphere,  which  kept  flashing  at  intervals,  till  it  was  lost  in  the  morn- 
ing light.  This  should  lead  our  thoughts  to  the  contemplation  of  that 
awful  night,  when,  the  Heavens  being  on  Jire,  shall  be  dissolved,  and  the 
elements  slmll  melt  with  fervent  heat ;  when  our  blessed  Savior  shall 
descend  in  flaming  fire,  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  with  power  and  great  glory. 

Green  conducted  the  News-Letter  with  discretion,  and 
with  a  disposition  to  be  impartial,  conciliating  and  hon- 
est, that  renders  his  memory  venerable.  The  consum- 
mation of  his  labors  and  his  life  is  thus  announced  in 
the  News-Letter  of  January  4,  1733  :  — 

On  Thursday  last,  being  Dec.  28th,  deceased  here,  after  a  long  and 
painful  langiiishment  of  a  sore  that  broke  inwards,  Mr.  Bartholomew 
Green,  one  of  the  deacons  of  the  South  Church ;  who  has  been  the 
principal  Printer  of  this  town  and  countiy  near  fortj^  years.  He  died 
in  the  67tli  year  of  his  age ;  being  born  at  Cambridge,  Oct.  12,  1666 ; 
and  was  here  very  decently  interred  on  the  2d  cmrent. 

His  father  was  Capt.  Samuel  Green,  the  famous  Printer  of  Cam- 
bridge; who  arrived  with  Governor  Winthrop  in  16.30.  He  came  in 
the  same  ship  with  the  Honorable  Thomas  Dudley,  Esq.,  and  used  to 
tell  his  children,  that  upon  their  first  coming  ashore,  both  he  and  several 
others  were  for  some  time  glad  to  lodge  in  empty  casks,  to  shelter  them 
from  the  weather,  for  want  of  housing.  This  Capt.  Green  was  a  com- 
mission officer  of  the  military  company  at  Cambridge,  who  chose  him 
for  above  sixty  years  together,  and  he  died  there,  Jan.  1,  1701 — 2,  aged 


JOHN    DRAPER.  2? 

87,  highly  esteemed  and  beloved,  both  for  piety  and  a  martial  genius. 
He  took  such  great  delight  in  tlie  military  exercise,  that  the  arrival  of 
their  training-days  would  always  raise  his  joy  and  spirit ;  and  when  he 
was  grown  so  aged  that  he  could  not  walk,  he  would  be  earned  out  in 
his  chair  into  the  field,  to  ^iew  and  order  his  company.  He  had  nine- 
teen children,  eight  by  his  first  vnfe,  and  eleven  by  his  second,  who  was 
a  daughter  of  the  venerable  Elder  Clarke,  of  Cambridge :  of  which 
eleven  children  there  is  this  remarkable  ;  that,  though  two  died  young, 
yet  of  the  other  nine,  there  died  not  one  for  fifty-two  years ;  the  first 
breach  being  made  about  a  year  and  a  half  ago. 

This  Mr.  Green,  whose  loss  we  deplore,  first  set  up  his  press  with  his 
father  in  Cambridge,  and  afterwards  removed  to  Boston,  where,  on 
Sept.  16,  1690,  soon  after  he  was  first  married,  his  press  and  letters, 
which  were  then  esteemed  the  best  that  had  lieen  in  the  country,  were 
consumed  by  a  fire  that  began  in  the  ncighliorhood :  upon  which  he 
returned  to  Cambridge,  and  there  continued  till  the  winter  1692,  .3; 
when  he  came  back  to  Boston  ;  where  he  has  been  Printer  to  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Council  for  near  forty  years,  and  of  the  Boston  News-Letter 
(excepting  a  small  intermission)  from  its  beginning:  And  for  his  par- 
ticular character  —  as  the  author  of  the  Weekly  Journal  has  very  justly 
observed,  "  He  was  a  person  generally  known  and  esteemed  among  us, 
as  a  very  humble  and  exemplary  Christian,  one  who  had  much  of  that 
primitive  Christianity  in  him,  which  has  always  been  the  distinguishing 
glory  of  New-England."  We  may  further  remember  his  cminency 
for  a  strict  obser\ang  the  Sabbath ;  his  household  piety ;  his  keeping 
close  and  diligent  to  the  work  of  his  calling ;  his  meek  and  peaceable 
spirit ;  his  caution  of  publishing  any  thing  offensive,  light,  or  hurtful ; 
and  his  tender  sjnnpathy  to  the  poor  and  afflicted.  He  began  to  be 
pioiis  in  the  days  of  his  youth ;  and  he  would  always  speak  of  the 
wonderful  spirit  of  piety  that  then  prevailed  in  the  land,  Mith  a  singular 
pleasure. 

The  same  paper  contains  the  advertisement  of  John 
Draper, — the  son-in-law  of  Green,  —  informing  the 
pubhc,  that  the  News-Letter  would  be  carried  on  and 
sent  out  every  week  on  Thursday  morning,  as  usual  ;  — 
that  care  would  be  constantly  taken  to  insert  therein  all 
the  most  remarkable  occurrences,  both  foreign  and 
domestic,  that  come  to  hand  well  attested  ;  —  that  all 
communications  from  the  reverend  ministers,  or  other 
gentlemen,  would  be  thankfully  received  ;  —  and  that  it 


28  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTEK. 

would  be  his  endeavor  to  render  the  paper  as  informing 
and  entertaining  as  possible,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 
who  may  encourage  it. 

Under  the  hands  of  Draper,  the  News-Letter  main- 
tained the  respectable  character  it  had  acquired  while  in 
the  care  of  Green.  The  selections  from  foreign  journals 
were  copious  and  interesting  ;  and  his  own  summary  of 
passing  events,  under  the  Boston  head,  was  as  full,  prob- 
ably, as  circumstances  and  material  permitted.  Com- 
munications were  not  frequent ;  but  there  is  one,  which 
occupies  about  five  pages  of  the  News-Letter,  in  five  or 
six  successive  numbers,  and  affords  an  evidence  of  the 
veneration,  which,  at  that  day,  was  attached  to  the  New- 
England  version  of  the  Psalms.  It  is  a  criticism  on  the 
version  of  Tate  and  Brady,  which,  it  seems,  had  just 
then, —  in  1739,  —  made  its  appearance  in  Boston. 
The  critic  is,  occasionally,  quite  severe  upon  those  two 
Poets,  and  adduces  various  passages,  to  show  that  their 
version  is  an  essential  departure  from  the  simplicity,  and 
often  from  the  meaninir,  of  the  orisinal.  In  their  ver- 
sion  of  Psalm  VI.  they  use  the  phrase  "  a  wretch  for- 
lorn." The  critic  says,  —  "  1.  There  is  nothing  of  this, 
either  in  the  original  or  the  English  Psalter.  2.  'Tis  a 
low  expression  ;  and,  to  add  a  low  one,  is  less  allowable. 
But  3,  what  I  am  most  concerned  for  is,  that  'twill  be 
apt  to  make  our  children  think  of  the  line  in  their  vul- 
gar petli/song,  so  much  like  it  —  This  is  the  maiden  all 
forlorn,  &ic." 

The  following  lines  of  Tate  and  Brady,  — 

No  longer  let  the  wicked  Vaunf, 

And  jjroiidly  boasting  say, 
Tush,  God  regards  not  what  we  do  — 

give  the   critic  an   opportunity  to  make   the  following 


RICHARD     DRAPER.  29 

remarks,  the  propriety  of  which  will  encounter  no  objec- 
tion :  — 

Vaunt  is  a  word  so  antiquated,  that  there  are  not  ten  in  fifty,  that 
know  what  it  means.  It  might  have  been  well  enough  used  a  himdrtd 
years  ago,  when  our  New-England  Psalm  Book  was  composed  ;  but  is 
too  old-fashioned  to  put  into  a  new  performance,  for  the  use  of  a  com- 
mon auditory  in  the  pi-esent  age.  Besides,  what  difference  is  there 
between  vaunting  and  proudly  boasting  ?  [as  it  is  in  the  original.]  It  is 
perfectly  tautologous. 

But  to  hear  a  man  cry  Tush,  in  a  prayer  to  God,  you  would  think 
him  extreamly  impolite,  or  vain,  or  beside  himself.  How  much  more 
oddly  will  this  sound  in  the  midst  of  the  devotions  of  a  great  assembly  ? 
To  hear  them,  both  men  and  women,  singing  T-u-u-u-sh,  whether  Tre- 
ble, Base,  or  Tenor ;  'twill  be  difficult  for  the  more  lively  part  of  the 
congregation  to  keep  from  smiling.  And  the  idea  this  raises  in  me  is  so 
disagreeable,  that  I  should  not  wonder  if  this  were  called  the  Tush 
Version. 

Draper  published  the  News-Letter  till  near  the  close  of 
the  year  1762.  The  paper  of  December  2,  announces 
that,  on  the  Monday  preceding,  he  died  after  a  slow  and 
hectic  disorder,  having  just  entered  the  61st  year  of  his 
age.  The  notice  adds,  —  "  By  his  industry,  fidelity,  and 
prudence  in  his  business,  he  rendered  himself  very 
agreeable  to  the  public.  His  charity  and  benevolence  ; 
his  pleasant  and  sociable  turn  of  mind  ;  his  tender  affec- 
tion as  a  husband  and  parent ;  his  piety  and  devotion  to 
his  Maker,  has  made  his  death  as  sensibly  felt  by  his 
friends  and  relations,  as  his  life  is  worthy  imitation." 

The  same  paper  informs  the  public  that  the  business 
of  the  late  publisher  devolved  upon  Richard  Draper, 
son  of  the  deceased.  The  title  was  changed  to  The 
Boston  Weekly  News-Letter  and  New-England  Chron- 
icle. The  next  year  it  was  again  changed  to  The 
INlassachusetts  Gazette  and  Boston  News-Letter.     The 


30  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 

proprietor  took  into  partnership  a  kinsman,  —  Samuel 
Draper,  —  and  the  imprint  announced  that  the  paper 
was  "  Pubhshed  by  Richard  Draper,  Printer  to  the 
Governor  and  Council,  and  by  Samuel  Draper,  at  their 
Printing-OfRce  in  Newbury-street."  Samuel  Draper 
died,  in  March,  1769,  and  the  paper  was  again  con- 
ducted by  Richard  Draper  alone. 

'  In  May,  1768,  the  News-Letter  and  a  paper  published 
by  Green  &z;  Russell,  called  the  Boston  Post  Boy  and 
Advertiser,  were  united,  as  oflicial  organs  of  the  govern- 
ment, under  the  title  of  the  Massachusetts  Gazette. 
The  business  was  so  arranged,  that  each  paper  was  still 
a  separate  publication,  belonging  exclusively  to  its  pro- 
prietor. The  News-Letter  was  published  on  Thursday 
and  the  Post-Boy  on  Monday.  Each  paper  was  equally 
divided  in  two  parts,  —  one  half  bearing  its  proper  title, 
and  the  other  half  of  both  papers  was  called  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Gazette,  "  published  by  authority."  This  half 
of  both  papers  contained  the  acts  and  proceedings  of 
government,  and  the  matter  was  nearly  identical  in  both  ; 
while  the  contents  of  the  other  half  were  varied  accord- 
ing to  the  fancy  and  interest  of  the  respective  proprie- 
tors. This  mode  of  publication  was  discontinued  in 
September,  1769,  and  Draper  resumed  the  former  title, 
—  Massachusetts  Gazette  and  Boston  Weekly  News- 
Letter.* 

After  the  discontinuance  of  this  "  Adam  and  Eve 
paper,"  as  Draper  called  it,  he  published  the  News-Let- 
ter  alone,  till  May,  1774.  During  this  period,  it  was 
well  supplied  with  communications  by  able  writers,  who 

♦  See  History  of  Priming,  vol.  ii.  207  -  209. 


RICHARD    DRAPER.  31 

adhered  to  the  administration,  and  opposed  the  Whigs 
with  the  best  arguments  they  could  produce,  —  not 
unfrequently  in  sober  earnest,  but  as  often  by  effusions 
of  wanton  ridicule  or  cold-hearted  bitterness.  The  pro- 
ceedings of  public  meetings  were  usually  published, 
without  doubt  as  a  measure  of  policy,  to  keep  the 
friends  of  the  government  informed  of  the  movements  of 
the  Whigs.  In  the  paper  of  June  4,  1765,  are  the 
Instructions  voted  by  the  town  of  Worcester  to  Joshua 
Bigelow,  their  representative  in  the  General  Court, 
then  sitting  in  Boston.  These  Instructions  require  of 
the  Representative  that  he  should  use  his  influence  to 
maintain  and  continue  that  harmony  and  good  will 
between  Great-Britain  and  this  province,  that  may  be 
most  conducive  to  the  prosperity  of  each,  and  suffer  no 
innovations  or  encroachments  on  our  chartered  rights :  — 
That  he  should  use  his  influence  to  obtain  a  law  to  put 
an  end  to  that  unchristian  and  impolitic  practice  of 
maMng  slaves  of  the  human  species,  and  that  he  give 
his  vote  for  none  to  serve  in  His  Majesty's  Council,  who 
will  use  their  influence  against  such  a  law:— That  he 
should  use  his  influence  to  establish  the  Fee  Table  on 
principles  more  agreeable  to  the  rules  of  justice  :  —  That 
he  should  use  his  endeavors  "  to  relieve  the  people  of 
this  province  from  the  great  burden  of  supporting  Latin 
Grammar  Schools,  whereby  they  are  prevented  from 
attaining  such  a  degree  of  English  learning  as  is  neces- 
sary to  retain  the  freedom  of  any  state":  —  That  he 
should  make  diligent  inquiry  into  the  cause  of  the  neglect 
of  the  militia  of  the  province:  —  And,  lastly,  that  he 
should  "take  special  care  of  the  LIBERTY  of  the 
PRESS." 


32  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 

No  opposition  to  the  Stamp  Act  was  made  by  Dra- 
per. The  officers  of  the  government  were  sustained 
and  encouraged,  both  in  the  News-Letter  and  the 
Gazette.  The  intelHgence  of  the  repeal  of  tiie  act  was 
received  in  Boston,  on  the  16th  of  May,  1766.  The 
following  account  of  the  reception  was  given  in  the 
Gazette,  and  is  substantially  the  same  as  that,  which 
appeared  in  the  other  papers :  — 

Friday  last,  to  the  inexpressible  joy  of  all,  we  received  by  Capt. 
Coffin  the  important  news  of  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act ;  *  *  * 
upon  wliich  the  liells  in  the  town  were  set  a  ringing,  the  ships  in  the  har- 
bor displayed  their  colors,  guns  were  discharged  in  dilferent  parts  of 
the  town,  and  in  the  evening  were  several  bonfires.  According  to  a 
previous  vote  of  the  town,  the  Selectmen  met  in  the  afternoon  at  Fan- 
ueil  Hall,  and  appointed  Monday  last  for  a  day  of  general  rejoicings  on 
that  happy  occasion.  The  morning  was  ushered  in  with  music,  ringing 
of  bells,  and  the  discharge  of  cannon,  the  ships  in  the  harbor  and  many 
of  the  houses  in  town  being  adorned  witli  colors.  — Joy  smiled  in  eveiy 
countenance,  Benevolence,  Gratitude,  and  Content  seemed  the  com- 
panions of  all.  By  the  generosity  of  some  gentlemen,  remarkable  for 
their  humanity  and  patriotism,  our  Gaol  was  freed  of  debtors.  At  one 
o'clock  the  castle  and  batteries  and  train  of  artillery  fired  a  royal  salute, 
and  the  afternoon  was  spent  in  mirth  and  jollitj'.  In  the  evening  the 
whole  towTi  was  beautifully  illuminated  :  On  the  common  the  Sons  of 
Liberty  erected  a  magnificent  pyramid,  illuminated  with  two  hundred 
and  eighty  lamps,  the  four  upper  stories  of  wliich  were  ornamented  with 
the  figures  of  tlieir  Majesties,  and  fourteen  of  the  worthy  Patriots,  who 
have  distinguished  themselves  by  their  love  of  liberty.  The  following 
lines  were  on  tlie  four  sides  of  the  next  apartment,  which  referred  to 
the  eml)lcmatical  figures  on  the  lower  stoiy,  the  whole  supported  by  a 
large  base  of  tiie  Doric  order : 

O  Thou,  whom  next  to  Heaven  wc  most  revere, 

Fair  LHiEKTY  !  thou  lovely  goddess,  hear ! 

Have  we  not  woo'd  thee,  won  thee,  held  thee  long, 

I^ain  in  thy  lap,  and  melted  on  thy  tongue  ; 

Through  death  and  danger's  rugged  path  jjursucd, 

And  led  thee  smiling  to  this  SOLITUDE  ; 

Hid  thee  witliin  our  heart's  most  golden  cell. 

And  braved  the  Powers  of  Eartli  and  Powers  of  Hell ; 


RICHARD    DRAPER.  33 

GODDESS  !  we  cannot  part,  thon  must  not  fly  — 
Be  Slaves  —  wc  dare  to  scorn  it  —  dare  to  die  — 

While  clanking  chains  and  curses  shall  salute 
Thine  ears,  remorseless  G — ^le,  thine  O  B — e  ; 
To  you,  blest  PATRIOTS  !  we  our  cause  submit, 
Illustrious  Camden,  Britain's  guardian  Pitt ; 
Recede  not,  frown  not,  rather  let  us  be 
Deprived  of  Being,  than  of  LIBERTY. 
Let  Fraud  or  Malice  blacken  all  our  crimes. 
No  disaffection  stains  these  peaceful  climes ; 
O  save  us,  shield  us  from  imijeuding  woes, 
The  foes  of  Britain  only  are  our  foes. 

Boast,  foul  Oppression  !  boast  thy  transient  reign, 
TVTiile  honest  FREEDOM  struggles  Avith  the  chain; 
But  know  the  Sons  of  Virtue,  hardy,  brave, 
Disdain  to  lose  through  mean  despair  to  save ; 
Aroused  in  thunder,  awful  they  appear. 
With  proud  Deliverance  stalking  in  their  rear ; 
While  tyrant  foes,  their  pallid  fears  betray. 
Shrink  from  their  anus,  and  give  their  vengeance  way : 
See  in  the  unequal  war  opjiressors  fall. 
The  hate,  contempt,  and  endless  curse  of  all. 

Our  FAITH  approved,  our  LIBERTY  restored, 
Our  hearts  bend  grateful  to  our  sovereign  lord  : 
Hail,  Darling  Monarch  !  by  this  act  endeared, 
Our  firm  affections  are  thy  best  reward. 
Should  Britain's  self  against  herself  divide. 
And  hostile  armies  frown  on  either  side,  — 
Should  hosts  rebellious  shake  our  Brunswick's  throne, 
And,  as  they  dared  thy  parent,  dare  thy  son, 
To  this  asylum  stretch  thy  haj^py  wing. 
And  we'll  contend  who  best  shall  love  our  KING. 

Meetings  of  ladies  were  frequently  held  in  the  prin- 
cipal towns  of  Massachusetts,  at  which  resolutions  were 
adopted,  expressing  a  determination  to  wear  no  articles 
of  dress  of  British  manufacture      In  reference  to  such 


34  BOSTON     NEWS-LETTER. 

resolutions,  one  of  Draper's  correspondents  indulged  his 
wit  in  the  following  attempt  at  ridicule : 

TO   THE  LADIES. 

Young  Ladies  in  towTi  and  those  that  live  round, 
Let  a  friend  at  this  season  advise  you ; 
Since  money 's  so  scarce,  and  times  growing  worse, 
Strange  things  may  soon  liap  and  surprize  you : 

First  then,  throw  aside  your  top  knots  of  pride  : 
Wear  none  but  your  OAvn  country  linen  : 
Of  economy  boast,  let  your  pride  be  the  most 
To  show  clothes  of  your  own  make  and  spinning. 

"\Miat  if  homespun  they  say  is  not  quite  so  gay 
As  brocades,  yet  be  not  in  a  passion, 
For  when  once  it  is  kno^\Ti  this  is  much  worn  in  town, 
One  and  all  will  cry  out  —  'Tis  the  fixihion  ! 

And,  as  one,  all  agree,  that  you'll  not  married  be 
To  such  as  will  wear  London  factory. 
But  at  first  sight  refuse,  tell  'cm  such  you  will  choose 
As  encourage  our  own  manufactory. 

No  more  ribbons  wear,  nor  in  rich  silks  appear ; 
Love  your  coimtry  much  better  than  fine  things  ; 
Begin  without  passion,  't  will  soon  be  the  fashion 
To  grace  your  smooth  locks  with  a  twine  string. 

Throw  aside  your  Bohea  and  your  Green  Hyson  tea, 
And  all  things,  w-ith  a  new-fashion  duty ; 
Procure  a  good  store  of  the  choice  Lal)radore, 
For  there'll  soon  be  enough  here  to  suit  you. 

These  do  without  fear,  and  to  all  you'll  appear 

Fair,  channing,  true,  lovely,  and  clever ; 

Though  the  times  remain  darkish,  young  men  may  be  sparkish, 

And  love  you  much  stronger  than  ever. 

Then  make  yourselves  easy,  for  no  one  will  teaze  ye, 
Nor  tax  you,  if  chancing  to  sneer 
At  the  sense-ridden  tools,  who  tliiuk  us  all  fools  ; 
But  thevll  find  the  reverse  far  and  near. 


RICHARD    DRAPER.  35 

It  would  be  unpardonable  to  pass  over,  without  trans- 
cribing the  following,  — which  presents  the  odious  vice  of 
drunkenness  in  its  true  light :  — 

EriTAPII. 

Temperate  Header.  —  This  Tomb  thou  mayest  approach  without 
veneration,  and  this  Inscription  peruse  without  pity  for  the  suhject  of  it ; 
for  here  are  only  confined  from  the  air,  which  they  would  pollute,  and 
from  the  sight,  which  they  would  offend,  the  odious  connjpted  remains 
of  one  of  the  most  ignoljle  of  suicides,  a  sot;  of  one,  who,  neither 
induced  by  external  solicitation  nor  encouraged  by  example,  nor  allured 
by  social  conversation,  equally  foolish  as  flagitious,  adopted  the  enor- 
mity of  excessive  drinking,  without  one  palliating  plea ;  and,  resigning 
to  others  the  apologies  for  and  the  pleasures  of  debauchery',  such  as 
they  are,  unnaturally  habituated  himself  to  sullen,  solitary,  joyless  inebri- 
ation. With  imagined  privacy,  he  persisted  in  swallowing  spiritous 
poison  to  his  health,  intellects  and  humanity,  till  he  became  the  wretched 
object  of  detestation,  or  of  contempt,  till  reduced  to  such  diiSculties  of 
miseiy,  as  to  be  indebted  for  the  last  mitigation  of  his  pain  to  the 
causes  which  produced  it,  —  to  causes  which  he  acknowledged,  and 
which  he  execrated  as  fatal,  while  he  continued  them  to  the  hour  in 
which  they  proved  so.  Ai-t  thou  inquisitive  for  his  motives,  however 
inexcusable,  to  an  indulgence  so  destructive,  be  assured  they  were  no 
better  than  the  preposterous  desires  of  expediting  the  lapse  of  that  time, 
which  he  had  not  the  resolution  to  improve,  and  of  reconciling  himself 
to  that  obscurity,  from  which  he  had  not  the  industi-y  to  emerge.  By 
his  life,  which  was  unhappy  without  consolation ;  by  his  death,  which 
was  early  but  unlamented,  be  once  more  admonished  to  reject  the  -vicious 
insinuations  of  idleness ;  be,  if  possible,  usefully  diligent ;  or,  at  least, 
having  nothing  to  do,  resist  the  temptation  to  do  what  may  be  worse  than 
nothing. 

From  the  News-Letter  of  March,  1769:  — 

Advertisement.  The  Bell  Cart  will  go  through  Boston  before  the 
end  of  next  month,  to  collect  Rags  for  the  Paper-Mill  at  Milton,  when 
all  people  that  will  encourage  the  Paper  Manufactory,  may  dispose  of 
them.  They  are  taken  in  at  Mr.  Caleb  Davis's  Shop,  at  the  Fortifica- 
tion ;  Mr.  Andrew  Gillespie's,  near  Dr.  Clark's  ;  Mr.  Andras  Eandalis, 
near  Phillips's  Wharf;  and  Mr.  John  Boies's  in  Long  Lane ;  Mr. 
Frothingham's  in  Charlestown ;  Mr.  Williams's  in  Marblehead ;  Mr. 


36  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 

Edson's  in  Salem  ;  I\Ir.  John  Harris's  in  Newbury ;  Mr.  Daniel  Fowle's 
in  Poi-tsmouth ;  and  at  the  Paper-ilill  in  Milton. 

Rags  are  as  beauties,  which  concealed  lie, 
But  when  in  Paper,  how  it  charms  the  eye : 
Pray  save  your  Rags,  new  beauties  to  discover, 
For  Paper  truly,  every  one  's  a  lover : 
By  the  Pen  and  Press  such  knowledge  is  displayed, 
As  would'nt  exist,  if  Paper  icas  not  made, 
Wisdom  of  things,  rnysierious,  divine. 
Illustriously  doth  on  Paper  shine. 

Two  numbers  only  of  the  News-Letter,  published 
during  the  siege,  have  T  been  able  to  find.  One  of 
them  is  the  publication  of  November  16,  1775.  It  is  a 
small  half  sheet,  one  side  of  which  is  nearly  filled  with 
the  proclamations  of  General  Howe.  The  first  is  "  A 
Proclamation  for  suppressing  Rebellion  and  Sedition," 
calling  upon  "  all  officers,  civil  as  well  as  military,  and 
all  other  obedient  and  loyal  subjects,  to  use  their  utmost 
endeavors,  to  withstand  and  suppress  rebellion,  and  to 
disclose  and  make  known  all  treasons  and  traitorous  con- 
spiracies, which  they  shall  know,"  &c.,  "  within  any  of 
the  Colonies  or  Plantations  in  North  America." 

The  second  recommended  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town  of  Boston  "  immediately  associate  themselves,  to 
be  fornied  into  companies,  under  proper  officers,  selected 
by  me,  from  among  the  associates,  to  be  solely  employed 
within  the  precincts  of  the  town,"- for  the  "  preservation 
of  order  and  good  government  within  the  town."  The 
association  was  to  "  be  opened  in  the  Council  Chamber, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Honorable  Peter  Oliver,  Fos- 
ter Hutchinson,  and  JViUiam  Brown,  Esquires,  on  Mon- 
day, the  thirtieth  day  of  October,  and  continued  for  four 
days,  that  no  one  may  plead  ignorance  of  the  same." 


RICHARD    DRAPER.  37 

All  persons,  so  associating,  and  able  to  discharge  the 
duty  required  of  them,  were  to  be  "■  properly  armed,  and 
to  have  an  allowance  of  fuel  and  provision,  equal  to 
what  was  issued  to  His  Majesty's  troops  within  the  gar- 
rison." 

A  third  proclamation  prohibited  all  masters  of  vessels 
arriving  in  the  harbor  of  Boston,  not  under  the  immedi- 
ate command  of  Sir  Samuel  Graves,  from  landing  their 
cargoes,  without  permission,  and  prohibited  all  outward 
bound  masters  of  vessels  from  attempting  to  go  to  sea, 
without  first  giving  an  exact  account  of  their  cargoes. 
Disobedience  of  this  order  was  to  be  punished  with 
imprisonment. 

A  fourth  proclamation,  dated  the  sixth  of  November, 
omitting  the  descriptive  titles  and  offices  of  General 
Howe,  is  as  follows  :  — 

WHEEEAS  the  present  and  approacliiug  distresses  of  many  of  the 
inhabitants  in  the  town  of  Boston,  from  the  scarcity  and  high  prices  of 
provisions,  fuel,  and  other  necessary  articles  of  life,  can  only  be  avoided, 
by  permitting  them  to  go  where  they  may  hope  to  procure  easier  means 
of  subsistence : 

NOTICE  is  hereby  given  that  all  those,  suffering  imder  the  above- 
mentioned  circumstances,  who  chuse  to  depart  the  town,  may  give  in 
their  names  to  Captain  James  Urquhart,  Town  Major,  before  Thurs- 
day, twelve  o'clock  of  the  ninth  instant,  specifying  their  Names,  Abodes, 
Number  and  Names  of  those  in  Family,  Effects,  &c.,  that  Passes  may 
be  made  out,  confonnable  to  regulations  already  established. 

Given  at  Head  Quarters,  §'c. 

The  other  number  of  the  News-Letter,  mentioned 
above,  was  published  on  the  22d  of  February,  1776.  It 
affords  pretty  strong  evidence  of  the  disposition  of  the 
Tory  troops  and  the  Tory  citizens  to  indulge  in  frolic- 
some dissipation,  to  ridicule  the  patriotism  of  the  Whigs, 
and  to  abuse  and  calumniate  the  leading  men  of  the 
Whig  party.     The  first  article  in  the  paper  is  a  notice 

VOL.    I.  4 


38  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 

that  "  the  fourth  subscription  ball  at  Concert-Hall  is  to 

be  held  on  the  29th  instant,   1776."     This  is  followed 

by  another  special  notice,  as  follows :  — 

MASQUERADE. 
On  Monday,  the  11th  of  March  will  be  given  at  Concert-Hall,  a 
Subscription  ^Masked  Ball.     By  the  sixth  of  March  a  Number  of 
Different  Masks  will  be  prepared,  and  sold  by  almost  all  the  Milliners 
and  Mantua  Makers  in  Towii. 

Under  the  Boston  head,  the  editor  says,  —  "We  hear 
ten  Capital  Cooks  are  already  engaged  in  preparing  sup- 
per for  the  Masquerade,  which  is  to  be  the  most  brilliant 
Thing  ever  seen  in  America."  This  was,  probably,  the 
last  of  a  series  of  entertainments,  —  insulting  to  the  suf- 
fering inhabitants  of  Boston,  —  as  the  town  was  evacu- 
ated by  the  British  troops  a  few  days  afterward,  and 
occupied  by  General  Washington  and  the  American 
Army. 

The  following  article,  in  the  same  paper,  is  introduced 
by  its  author,  as  "  An  Epilogue  to  the  many  tragic 
scenes  recorded  in  the  weekly  publications  ; "  and  is 
given  as  a  companion  to  "  the  Prologue  to  a  tragedy 
acted  in  Boston,"  which  appeared  in  the  News-Letter  of 
the  eighth  :  — 

The  SOLILOQUY 

OF 

The   BosTOX    TREE   of  LIBERTY, 
As  they  were  cutting  it  down,  1776. 
And  must  I  die  ?  —  but  why  complain  ? 
Complaints  and  murmerings  are  in  vain : 
Tis  but  the  lot  of  beast  and  man, 
And  die  we  must,  do  what  we  can. 
My  ancestors  for  centuries  stood 
The  pride  and  honor  of  the  wood ; 
A  royal  race,  a  chosen  band. 
The  ornaments  of  Skawmut  land. 
For  centuries  they  yearly  shed, 
The  leafy  honors  of  their  head ; 


RICHARD    DRAPER.  39 

At  each  returning  spring  reviv'd 
Their  wonted  vigor,  grew  and  thriv'd : 
Of  wintry  blasts  they  stood  the  shock, 
The  tempests  as  they  rag'd,  tliey'd  mock ; 
The  rude  attacks  of  winds  wliich  hlew 
They  feced  them  all  and  healthier  grew, 
Th'  uncultur'd  Indian,  nature's  care, 
Did  often  to  their  shades  repair 
Himself  to  cool  and  to  refresh, 
Regaling  on  the  fish  and  flesh 
Which  nature  generously  gave, 
Free  from  the  cheat  of  cultur'd  knave, 
Here  he  enjoy'd  his  simple  fare, 
Enjoy'd  Ms  sleep,  unpress'd  by  care, 
'Till  European  strangers  came 
With  stealth,  and  robb'd  him  of  his  game  ; 
He  hunted  beasts  —  they  hunted  men, 
He  fled  and  ne'er  return'd  again. 

How  happy  is  the  Indian's  lot ! 
Few  cares  he  knows,  they  soon  forgot : 
No  Av'rice  with  her  griping  paw. 
No  woiTies  from  the  dogs  of  law ; 
In  friendship  such  as  nature  grants, 
He  lives,  and  very  few  his  wants  : 
Grateful  on  nature's  bounty  looks. 
Quenches  his  thirst  at  nature's  brooks. 

My  parent  dy'd  when  nature  bid, 
I  spread  my  grandeur  in  his  stead. 
'Twas  when  that  civil  creature,  man, 
Unciviliz'd  fair  nature's  plan, 
To  flourish  then  it  was  my  luck 
When  civil  folks  at  nothing  stuck, 
But  would  in  mobs  collect  together. 
And  nought  went  down  but  tar  and  feather ; 
Ah,  me  !  unhappy !  —  'twas  my  fate, 
T'  outlive  the  ruin  of  the  state. 

Tis  true  I  flourished  many  a  year. 
And  spread  my  branches  full  and  fair : 
My  body  large  and  hale  and  plump. 
Fair  all  around  from  top  to  stump, 
Till  that  fierce  creature  huge  of  size. 
With  hundred  heads  and  saucer  eyes, 


40  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 

Christeu'd  by  name  of  Liberty, 
Repair'd  with  boisterous  crouds  to  me, 
And  for  their  god  they  chose  a  tree. 

'Twas  then  I  first  knew  what  was  pain, 
First  knew  that  godliness  was  gain : 
Under  my  shade  my  vot'ries  met. 
In  weather  cold,  hot,  dry  or  wet  — 
With  flaming  zeal  they  throng'd  my  body 
Inspir'd  with  rum  and  gin  and  toddy : 
On  me  they  hung  a  jockey's  boot. 
And  gather  d  thick  about  my  root ; 
They  stifled  me  with  sweat  and  stench, 
And  from  me  did  my  branches  wrench ; 
A  massy  pole  they  then  erected, 
And  with  a  rebel  standard  deck'd  it, 
To  make  the  rabble  gape  and  stare. 
Fling  up  their  caps  and  roar  and  swear. 
The  pole  it  gall'd  my  body  sore, 
Chaff 'd  oiF  my  bark,  —  my  branches  tore. 
A  copper  plate  they  nail'd  fast  to  me. 
And    *     *     *    *    right  through  me.* 
My  juices  by  sucli  usage  thicken'd 
The  circulation  stop'd,  I  sickcn'd. 
My  branches  they  decay'd  apace, 
I  found  I'd  almost  ran  my  race, 
Should  soon  be  forc'd,  as  mankind  must. 
To  lay  my  honors  in  the  dust. 

Thanks  to  the  hand  that  cuts  me  down, 
Thanks  to  the  axe  that  lops  my  crown : 
The  path  of  vice  I  never  trod, 
I  boast,  I  liv'd  the  people's  god. 

My  trunk,  may  't  be  to  fuel  tum'd 
By  Howe,  be  honor'd  to  be  bum'd 
That  I  to  him  may  warmth  impart, 
AVho  oft  himself  's  warm'd  many  a  heart. 

If  ever  there  should  be  a  shoot, 
Spring  from  my  venerable  root, 
Prevent,  oh  heav'n !  it  ne'er  may  see, 
Such  savage  times  of  liberty : 

*  The  words  here  wanting  have  been  obliterated  by  the  wear  of  the  paper. 


RICHARD    DRAPER.  41 

May  it  live  long  to  sec  those  times 

When  justice  dares  to  punish  crimes  ;  v 

When  George  may  see  his  laws  regarded, 

And  feel  his  virtues  all  rewarded : 

Live  to  rule  over  subjects  loyal 

And  live  rever'd,  respected  by  all. 

Still  in  his  sphere  of  virtue  move, 

And  feel  returns  of  iilial  love ; 

Trample  rebellion  under  foot, 

And  crush  the  monster,  branch  and  root ; 

Quell  Tylers,  Cades  and  Massianellos 

Who  sweat  at  puffing  treason's  bellows. 

From  giving  shades  to  mobs  I  go,  t 

Their  future  shades  are  shades  below. 

But  the  most  atrociously  malignant  article,  that  I  have 

found  in  the  News-Letter,  is  the  following,  taken,  it  is 

said,  from  the  London  Gazetteer,  of  September  20,  but 

written,  unquestionably,  as  the  signature  indicates,  by  a 

Boston  Tory :  — 

In  the  beginning  of  August,  a  lung's  ship  at  Rhode-Island  intercept- 
ed a  large  packet  of  letters  designed  for  the  rebel  Army. 

Tliree  of  these  letters  were  printed  by  order  of  the  Admiral.  The 
first  of  these  letters,  addi-essed  to  General  Washington,  is  exceedingly 
curious.  We  are  infomied  by  it  that  the  rebels  are  but  indifferent  sol- 
diers ;  that  they  are  very  deficient  in  stores  ;  and  in  particular,  that  they 
had  not  one  engineer. 

Whatever  the  pious  Mr.  Benjamin  Han-ison,  one  of  the  Virginia 
delegates,  may  say  of  the  intentions  of  Capt.  Meredith,  it  is  certain  he 
attempted  to  murder  Lord  Dunmore,  by  firing  at  the  boat,  in  which  his 
Lordship  escaped. 

The  moral  and  virtuous  Mr.  Benjamin  Harrison  exhibits  to  us  a  strik- 
ing pictm-e  of  American  hypocrisy  and  impiety  ;  for,  whilst  he  and  his 
rebel  brethren  of  the  Congress  are  incessantly  clamoringt  *  *  *  * 
*  *  *  to  conduct  them  to  victory,  he  is  at  the  same  time  debauching 
all  the  pretty  girls  in  his  neighborhood,  on  purpose  to  raise  a  squadron 
of  whores  to  keep  his  old  General  warm  during  his  winter  quarters. 

The  second  letter  is  from  another  of  the  rebel  Congress,  Mr.  Jolm 
Adams,  a  delegate  from  Massachusetts.  He,  good  soul,  makes  his  wife 
his  confidant,  and  speaks  with  great  vexation  of  mind  of  the  fidgets, 

t  Part  of  a  line  worn  off  by  a  fold  in  the  paper. 

4# 


42  BOSTON    NEWS-LETTER. 

whims,  caprices,  vanity,  superstition,  and  irritability  of  his  brethren 
the  wise  men  of  America  assembled  together  in  Congress. 

The  third  letter  is  from  the  same  hand  to  Colonel  Warren,  President 
of  the  Massachusetts  Congress.  In  the  beginning  of  his  letter  he 
severely,  but  justly  remarks  on  the  weakness  of  Hancock,  the  President  of 
the  wdse  men  ;  and  honestly  confesses  that  all  of  them  are  so  confound- 
ed with  business  in  which  they  have  involved  themselves,  that  they 
hardly  know  what  they  are  doing,  or  what  to  do.  It  is,  doubtless,  a 
puzzling  affair  to  establish  a  treasury  without  any  money.  As  he  be- 
gan with  criticism,  he  finishes  in  the  same  stile.  Warren  had  ^mtten 
to  him  the  same  oddities  of  General  Lee  ;  to  which  the  Braintree  Law- 
yer replies,  that  the  old  General  is  a  queer  creature,  and  advises  his 
friend  to  love  the  General's  dogs. 

It  has  become  fashionable  in  America  for  the  Saints  to  have  their 
procurers  and  their  Dalilahs.  ^^^lilst  the  General  is  fighting  the  Lord's 
battles  in  Massachusetts,  his  procurer,  the  holy  ^Ir.  Benjamin  Hamson, 
is  fitting  pretty  little  Kate,  his  washerwoman's  dauglitcr,  for  the  Lord's 
General.  Even  Hancock,  who  presides  over  and  directs  the  collective 
wisdom  and  virtue  of  all  America,  travels  with  a  vestal  in  his  train. 
He  himself  can  never  fit  her  for  the  General,  though  pious  Benjamin, 
the  procurer-general  to  the  Congress,  may. 

A  BOSTON  SAINT. 

Richard  Draper  continued  the  sole  proprietor  and 
conductor  of  the  News-Letter  till  May,  1774,  and  devot- 
ed it  to  the  maintenance  of  the  British  sovereignty,  and 
the  defence  of  all  the  proceedings  of  the  British  troops 
in  Boston.  In  that  month,  he  took  in  John  Boyle  as  a 
partner.  Boyle  was  a  native  of  Marblehead,  and  served 
an  apprenticeship  to  the  printing  business  under  Green 
&  Russell.  This  partnership  was  of  short  duration. 
Draper  died  on  the  sixth  of  June  following.  Margaret, 
his  widow,  in  partnership  with  Boyle,  carried  on  the 
business  for  a  few  months,  when  Boyle,  finding  his  con- 
nection with  a  Tory  newspaper  not  quite  pleasant  to 
himself  nor  agreeable  to  his  friends,  left  the  concern. 
His  place  in  the  firm  was  supplied  by  the  admission  of 
John  Howe,  as  a  partner,  by  whom  the  paper  was  con- 


JOHN    HOWE.  43 

ducted,  till  the  town  was  evacuated  by  the  British  troops, 
in  March,  1776.  With  the  termination  of  the  siege, 
the  News-Letter  was  discontinued,  and  never  after 
revived.  It  was  the  only  paper  printed  in  Boston 
during  the  siege.  It  was  published,  without  interrup- 
tion, for  a  period  of  seventy-two  years. 

Before  he  became  connected  with  Draper,  Boyle  had 
a  printing-office  of  his  own.  He  began  business,  as  a 
printer  and  bookseller,  and  published  a  few  books. 
When  he  retired  from  the  partnership,  he  resumed  the 
business  of  printing  and  bookselling,  but  soon  after  sold 
his  printing  materials,  and  confined  himself  entirely  to 
the  selling  of  books  and  stationery.  He  kept,  from  the 
commencement  of  business  on  his  own  account  to  the 
close  of  his  life,  in  Marlboro'-street,  a  few  doors  north  of 
Bromfield-street.     He  died  in  1819. 

John  Howe  was  a  native  of  Boston,  and  there  served 
an  apprenticeship  to  a  printer.  "  His  father  was  a 
tradesman,  and  kept  in  Marshall's-lane."  *  He  was 
quite  a  young  man,  when  he  connected  himself  with  the 
News-Letter.  He,  with  his  partner,  Mrs.  Draper,  left 
Boston  with  the  British  troops,  and  went  with  them  to 
Halifax,  where  he  printed  a  newspaper,  and  was  printer 
to  the  government.  He  also  had  an  office  of  some 
emolument,  and  was  connected  with  the  colonial  admin- 
istration.    He  died  about  the  year  1820. 

Margaret  Draper  remained  but  a  short  time  in  Halifax. 
She  went  thence  to  England,  and  received  a  pension 
from  the  British  government,  and  enjoyed  it  till  her 
death,  which  happened  since  the  beginning  of  the  pres- 
ent century. 

*  History  of  Printing,  vol  i.  394. 


44 


THE   BOSTON   GAZETTE 


In  the  year  1719,  William  Brooker  was  appointed 
Postmaster  of  Boston.  On  the  21st  of  December  he 
published  the  first  number  of  a  paper,  entitled  The  Bos- 
ton Gazette,  and  to  the  title  was  added,  "  Published  by 
Authority."  The  head  was  decorated  with  two  cuts,  a 
copy  of  one  of  which  is  here  given  ;  —  the  other  was  the 
representation  of  a  ship  under  full  sail.  A  notice  on  the 
first  page,  dated  at  the  Post-Office,  says,  —  "  The  pub- 
lishing of  this  paper  has  been  in  compliance  with  the 
desires  of  several  of  the  merchants  and  others  of  this 
town,  as  also  at  the  repeated  instances  of  those  people 
that  live  remote  from  home,  who  have  been  prevented 
from  having  their  News  Paper  sent  them  by  the  Post, 
ever  since  Mr.  Campbell  was  removed  from  being  Post- 
master." From  which,  it  is  presumed  that  Campbell 
was  so  angry  at  his  removal,  that  he  refused  to  supply 
his  customers  by  the  mails.     The  character  and  style  of 


KNEELAND    AND    GREEN.  45 

Campbell's  reply  may  be  inferred  from  the  rejoinder  of 
Brooker,  which  appeared  on  the  11th  of  January  :  — 

The  good  manners  and  caution  that  has  been  obsen'ed  in  writing  this 
paper,  'twas  hoped  would  have  prevented  any  occasion  for  controversies 
of  this  kind ;  but  finding  a  very  particular  advertisement  published  by 
Mr.  Campbell  in  his  Boston  News-Letter  of  the  4th  cun-ent,  lays  me 
under  an  absolute  necessity  of  giving  the  following  answer  thereunto. 

Mr.  Campbell  begins  in  saying,  The  Nameless  Author — Intimating 
as  if  the  not  mentioning  the  author's  name  was  a  fault :  But  if  he  vrAl 
look  over  the  papers  wrote  in  England,  (such  as  the  London  Gazette, 
Postman,  and  other  papers  of  reputation)  he  will  find  their  authors  so. 
As  this  part  of  his  advertisement  is  not  very  material,  I  shall  say  no 
more  thereon ;  but  proceed  to  matters  of  more  moment.  Mi\  Camp- 
bell seems  somewhat  displeased  that  the  author  says  he  was  removed 
from  being  Postmaster.  I  do  hereby  declare  I  was  the  person  that 
wrote  the  said  Preamble,  as  he  calls  it;  and  think  I  could  not  have 
given  his  being  turned  out  a  softer  epithet.  And  to  convince  him  (and 
all  mankind)  that  it  was  so,  I  shall  give  the  following  demonstrations 
of  it. 

Many  months  before  John  Hamilton,  Esq.  Deputy-Postmaster-Gcn- 
eral  of  North-America  displaced  the  said  Campbell,  he  received  letters 
from  the  secretary  of  the  Eight  Honorable  the  Postmaster-General  of 
Great  Britain,  &c.  that  there  had  been  several  complaints  made  against 
him,  and  therefore  the  removal  of  him  from  being  Postmaster  was 
thought  necessary.  JVIr.  Hamilton  for  some  time  delayed  it,  'till  on  the 
13th  of  September,  1718,  he  appointed  me  to  succeed  him,  with  the 
same  salary  and  other  just  allowances,  according  to  the  establislrment  of 
the  office ;  and  if  Mr.  Campbell  had  any  other,  they  were  both  unjust 
and  unwan-antable,  and  he  ought  not  to  mention  them.  As  soon  as  I 
was  put  in  possession  of  the  office,  Mr.  Hamilton  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
Right  Honorable  the  Postmaster-General,  acquainting  him  that  he  had 
removed  Mr.  Campbell  and  appointed  me  in  his  room. 

Mr.  Campbell  goes  on :  saying,  /  was  superseded  by  Mr.  Musgrave 
from  England.  To  make  him  appear  also  mistaken  in  this  point :  Mr. 
Hamilton  not  displacing  him  as  soon  as  was  expected,  the  Eight  Hon- 
orable the  Postmaster-General  appointed  IVIr.  Phillip  Musgrave,  by  their 
deputation  dated  June  27,  1718,  to  be  their  Deputy-Postmaster  of  Bos- 
ton ;  and  in  a  letter  brought  by  him  from  the  Eight  Honorable  the  Post- 
master-General to  John  PLimilton,  Esq.  mention  is  made,  that  for  the 
many  complaints  that  were  made  against  Mr.  Campbell,  they  had  thought 
it  fit  to  remove  him,  and  appoint  Mi*.  Musgrave  in  his  stead,  who  was 


46  BOSTON    GAZETTE. 

nominated  Postmaster  of  Boston  almost  three  months  before  I  succeed- 
ed Mr.  Campbell,  which  has  obliged  me  to  make  it  apjDcar  tliat  he  was 
either  removed,  turned  out,  displaced,  or  superseded. 

The  last  tiling  I  am  to  speak  to,  is,  Mr.  Campbell  says,  it  is  amiss  to 
represent  that  people  ranote  have  been  prevented  from  having  the  News-Pa- 
per. I  do  pray  he  will  again  read  over  my  introduction,  and  then  he 
will  find  there  is  no  word  there  advanced  that  ynW  admit  of  such  an 
interpretation. 

There  is  nothing  herein  contained  but  what  is  unquestionably  true; 
therefore  I  shall  take  my  leave  of  him,  wishing  him  all  desirable  success 
in  his  agreeable  News-Letter,  assuring  him  I  have  neither  capacity  nor  in- 
clination to  answer  any  more  of  his  like  Advertisements. 

With  the  office  of  postmaster,  the  Boston  Gazette 
passed  into  the  possession  of  Philip  Musgrave,  a  few 
weeks  after  its  first  pubHcation.  In  1726,  it  went  into 
the  hands  of  another  postmaster,  Thomas  Lewis,  and 
the  next  year,  it  became  the  property  of  a  third  post- 
master, Henry  Marshall.  It  was  printed  for  him  till  his 
death,  in  1732.  John  Boydell  succeeded  Marshall  in 
the  post-office,  and  kept  possession  of  the  Gazette,  till 
he  died  in  December,  1739.  It  was  printed  for  his  heirs 
till  October,  1741,  when  it  was  purchased  by  Kneeland 
and  Green,  and  incorporated  with  the  New-England 
Weekly  Journal.  The  publication,  under  the  title  of 
The  Boston  Gazette  and  Weekly  Journal,  was  continued 
by  them  till  the  dissolution  of  their  partnership,  in  1752, 
twenty-five  years  after  the  first  publication  of  the 
Journal. 

A  few  months  after  the  discontinuance  of  this  paper, 
and  the  dissolution  of  the  partnership  of  Kneeland  &£ 
Green,  Kneeland  issued  another  paper,  under  the  title  of 
The  Boston  Gazette,  or  Weekly  Adv^ertiser.  The  first 
number  was  published,  January  3,  1753.  It  was  print- 
ed in  the  quarto  form,  on  the  type  that  had  been  used 
for  the  Gazette  and  Journal,  and  was  spoken  of  in  the 


JOHN    BOYDELL,    B.    GREEN,    JUN.  47 

opening  advertisement,  as  a  continuation  of  that  paper. 
Kneeland  did  not  put  his  name  in  the  imprint  till  the 
second  year  of  its  publication,  and  at  the  end  of  that 
year,  the  publication  ceased,  on  account  of  the  provin- 
cial stamp-act,  and  was  never  revived. 

Of  the  four  postmasters,  who  in  succession  were  pro- 
prietors of  the  Boston  Gazette,  I  have  obtained  no 
information  of  the  first  three,  but  what  is  embraced  in 
the  preceding  brief  and  barren  sketch.  Of  the  fourth, 
there  is  the  following  notice  in  the  Gazette  of  Decem- 
ber 17,  1739:  — 

On  Tuesday  last,  died  here,  in  the  forty-ninth  year  of  his  age,  John 
Boydell,  Esq.  late  publisher  of  this  paper,  and  sometime  deputy-post- 
master within  this  and  the  three  neighboi-ing  governments  :  than  whom 
none  ever  lived  in  this  province  more  generally  esteemed  and  beloved, 
as  an  honest  worthy  man,  by  persons  of  all  ranks,  persuasions  and  par- 
ties, or  was  more  lamented  as  such  at  his  death.  He  first  came  over 
from  England  into  this  country  in  the  year  1716,  secretary  to  the  late 
worthy  Govei'nor  Shute,  and  register  of  the  court  of  vice-admiralty  for 
this  Province,  New-Hampshire,  and  Rhode-Island  ;  after  which  he  was 
appointed  register  of  the  court  of  probate  of  wills,  &c.  for  the  county 
of  Suifolk,  and  naval  officer  for  the  port  of  Boston ;  all  which  offices 
he  discharged  with  such  singular  diligence,  integrity,  and  goodness,  that 
this  community  never  lost  a  more  useful  and  valuable  member,  than  he 
was  in  his  degree  and  station. 

While  the  Gazette  was  in  the  possession  of  Brooker, 
its  first  proprietor,  it  was  printed  by  James  Franklin. 
Musgrave  employed  Samuel  Kneeland,  who  printed  it 
till  Marshall  took  possession  of  it.  He  employed  Bar- 
tholomew Green,  jun,,  as  the  printer,  who  printed  it 
till  the  death  of  Marshall.  It  was  then  printed  by 
Kneeland  &£  Green  for  Boydell  and  his  heirs.  Bartholo- 
mew Green,  jun.  removed  to  Halifax  in  1751,  intend- 
ing to  establish  a  press  in  that  place,  and  died  there,  a 
few  weeks  after  his  arrival,  aged  fifty-two  years. 


48  BOSTON    GAZETTE. 

Samuel  Kneeland,  the  ancient  and  respectable  printer, 
whose  name  occurs  so  often  in  this  article,  was  born  in 
Boston,  and  served  an  apprenticeship  with  Bartholomew 
Green.  He  printed  the  Gazette  till  some  time  in  1727, 
when,  on  the  appointment  of  a  new  postmaster,  the 
printing  of  that  paper  passed  into  the  hands  of  Bartholo- 
mew Green,  jun.  Kneeland  then  began  the  publication  of 
the  New-England  Weekly  Journal,  on  his  own  account, 
and,  a  few  months  after,  formed  a  partnership  with  Timo- 
thy Green.*  He  then  opened  a  bookstore,  and  the 
printing  of  the  Journal  was  conducted  by  Green.  He 
gave  up  the  bookstore  after  a  few  years,  and  returned 
to  the  printing-house.  This  partnership  continued  about 
twenty-five  years,  when  it  was  dissolved,  and  Kneeland 
continued  the  business  alone  with  his  accustomed  activity. 
He  was  a  long  time  printer  to  the  Governor  and  Coun- 
cil, and,  for  several  years,  printed  the  laws  and  journals 
of  the  House  of  Representatives.  He  published  many 
books  on  religious  subjects,  and  some  political  pamphlets. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Old  South  Church,  and  a  man 
of  great  piety  and  benevolence.  He  died,  December 
14,  1769,  aged  seventy-three  years,  and  left  four  sons, 
all  of  whom  were  printers.  The  Evening  Post  of 
December  18,  in  an  obituary  notice,  says,  —  "  He  sus- 
tained the  character  of  an  upright  man  and  a  good  Chris- 
tian, and  as  such,  was  universally  esteemed.  He  con- 
tinued in  business,  till,  through  age  and  bodily  infirmities, 
he  was  obliged  to  quit  it.  His  funeral  was  very  respect- 
fully attended  on  Saturday  evening  last." 

*  Son  of  Timothy  Green,  who  removed  from  Boston  to  New-London,  in  1752,  and 
was  the  first  printer  in  Connecticut.  Wlien  the  partnership  of  Kneeland  &  Green 
was  dissolved  in  1752,  Green  joined  his  father,  and  assumed  the  management  of  his 
business,  at  New-London. 


THE  NEW -ENGLAND  COURANT. 


This  was  the  third  newspaper  estabhshed  in  Boston. 
The  first  number  was  published  on  Monday,  August  17, 
1721,  by  James  Frankhn.  The  only  copies  of  it,  that 
I  have  been  able  to  find,  —  except  a  very  few  fugitive 
sheets,  —  are  in  the  library  of  the  Massachusetts  Histor- 
ical Society.  They  are  all  bound  in  one  volume,  and 
the  file  is  far  from  being  perfect.  The  first  paper  in  the 
volume  is  No.  17,  dated  November  27,  1721,  and  the 
last  is  No.  252,  published  on  Saturday,  June  4,  1726.* 

The  government  of  the  province  and  its  principal 
agents,  the  clergy,  and  various  individuals,  were  at- 
tacked in  the  Courant,  by  the  editor  and  his  correspond- 
ents, without  much  regard  to  public  or  personal  char- 
acter. Such  attacks  were  replied  to  in  the  News-Letter 
and  Gazette.  The  controversy  with  the  clergy  seems 
to  have  grown  out  of  a  difference  of  opinion  respecting 
the  practice  of  inoculation  for  the  Small  Pox  —  a  prac- 

*  This  must  be  the  same  file  as  that,  which  Mr.  Thomas  used  in  compiling  his 
History.  He  says,  vol.  ii.  p.  201 ,  ''  1  have  a  file  of  the  New  England  Courant  Cor 
llie  first  two  years  of  its  publication,  with  the  exception  of  the  first  sixteen  num- 
bers, which  are  wanting  " 

5 


50  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

tice,  which  the  Courant  violently  opposed,  hoth  by- 
serious  argument,  and  by  ridicule.  The  Mathers, — 
father  and  son, — were  lampooned  by  the  writers  in  the 
Courant,  in  language  not  always  the  most  decent,  and 
which  would  not  be  tolerated  at  the  present  day. 

The  Courant,  No.  17,  has  a  string  of  syllogisms,  of 
which  the  following  are  a  part,  "  in  answer  to  a  late 
piece  in  favor  of  Inoculation,  entitled  Several  Reasons, 
&-C."  *  These  syllogisms,  the  writer  says,  "  prove  that 
inoculating  the  Small-Pox  is  a  lawful  and  successful 
practice,  and  not  only  so,  but  a  duty.  Made  plain  and 
familiar  to  the  meanest  capacity,  but  withal  so  strong  as 
to  convince  all  gainsayers,  but  such  as  want  a  purge  of 
hellebore." 

Argwnent  1.  A  metliod  of  preventing  death,  which  I  have  readia 
used  in  SmjTna  and  Constantinople  with  success,  is  not  only  lawful  but 
a  duty.  But  I  fiave  read  that,  at  Smyrna  and  Constantinople,  inoculat- 
ing the  small-pox  is  practised  with  success.  Tliere/ore,  'Tis  not  only 
lawful  hut  a  duty  to  practise  it. 

Arg.  2.  A  practice  that  the  king  and  prince  and  most  eminent  phy- 
sicians in  London  and  Dublin,  and  elsewhere,  have  declared  their 
approbation  of,  is  not  only  lawful  but  a  duty.  Bid,  Such  eminent  per- 
sons have  declared  their  approbation  of  inoculating  the  small-pox. 
Therefore,  It  is  not  only  lawful  but  a  duty,  &c. 

******** 

Ar(j.  6.     A  method  of  preventing  death,  which  Dr.  I e  M r 

and  his  son,  and  several  other  ministers  say  is  the  rvjht  way,  is  not  only 

lawful  l)ut  a  duty.    But,  Dr.  I e  M r  and  his  son,  &c.  do  say 

that  inoculation  is  the  rigid  way.  Therefore,  Inoculation  is  not  only 
lawful  but  a  duty. 

Arg.  7.  A  method  of  preventing  death,  which  he  who  comes  into, 
must  believe,  That  it  is  not  his  duty  to  stay  till  God  send  the  sickness  on 
him  in  tlie  common  way,  became  then  it  will  be  too  late  ;  such  a  method  is 


•  ThLs  "  piooe  "  was  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  Several  Reasons,  proving  that 
Inoculating-  or  Transplanting-  the  Small-Pox  is  a  lawful  Practice,  and  that  it  has 
been  blessed  by  GOD  for  the  saving  of  many  a  Life.    By  Increase  Mather,  D.  D." 


JAMES    FRANKLIN.  51 

not  only  lawful  Imt  <a  duty.  But,  He  who  comes  into  tlio  method  of 
inoculation,  must  hclicve,  That  it  is  not  his  diitij  to  sfaij  till  God  send  the 
sickness  on  him  in  the  common  wai/,  because  then  it  will  he  too  late  to  seek 
relief.     Therefore,  Inocidation  is  both  lawful  and  a  duty. 

IXFEREXCES. 

I.  Many,  who  don't  use  inoculation,  are  in  bad  terms  with  the  sixth 
commandment. 

II.  They  who  call  inoculation  the  ivork  of  the  Devil,  &c.  arc  guilty  of 
a  sliockine]  hlasphcmy. 

In  his  Courant  of  December  4,  Franklin  says  :  — 

About  three  weeks  since  a  certain  gentleman  stopt  me  in  the  street, 
and  with  an  air  of  great  displeasure  attacked  me  with  words  to  this 
eflcct :  —  You  make  it  your  business  in  the  paper  called  the  Courant,  to 
villify  and  abuse  the  Ministeis  of  this  town.  There  are  many  curses  tohich 
await  those  that  do  so.  Tfie  Lord  will  smite  through  the  loins  of  them  that 
rise  up  against  the  Levites.  I  looidd  have  you  consider  of  it.  I  have  no 
more  to  say  to  you.  This  heinous  charge  and  heaA'y  curse  would  have 
been  more  surprising  to  me,  if  it  had  not  come  from  one  who  is  ever  as 
groundless  in  his  invectives  as  in  his  panegyrics.  *  *  *  But  this 
gentleman  has  endeavored  to  make  me  an  object  of  public  odium,  for  no 
other  reason  than  my  publishing  an  answer  to  a  piece  in  the  Gazette  of 
Oct.  30,  wherein  the  greatest  part  of  the  tOM'n  arc  represented  as  un- 
accountable liars  and  sdf-dcstroycrs  for  opjiosing  the  practice  of  inocu- 
lation. I  speak  not  only  my  own  opinion  in  this,  but  that  of  the  towai 
in  general,  who  were  so  exasj^erated,  that,  at  a  town-meeting  soon  after, 
they  moved,  that  a  committee  might  be  appointed  to  find  out  the 
author ;  but  the  moderator  telling  them  that  he  believed  it  was  not  their 
province  to  inqiiire  into  the  matter,  and  that  besides  the  ditWculty  of 
finding  out  the  author,  the  piece  was  too  scandalous  to  deserve  their 
notice,  they  were  persuaded  to  desist. 

At  the  close  of  another  column  of  his  justification, 
Franklin  says,  —  The  Courant  was  never  designed  for  a 
party  paper  —  that  Inoculators  and  Anti-Tnoculators 
were  welcome  to  speak  their  minds  in  it  —  that  what 
his  own  sentiments  are  concerning  inoculation  can  be 
of  no  consequence  to  any  body  —  "But  if  the  gentle- 
man above-mentioned,  or  those  influenced  by  him,  think 
themselves  wronged  at  any  time,  and  will  not  be  at  the 


52  NEW-ENGLAND     COURANT. 

pains  to  defend  themselves,  they  may  treat  me  as  they 
please  ;  I  shall  not  give  myself  nor  the  town  any  further 
trouble  in  my  defence." 

The  same  paper  contains  a  letter  signed  "  Castalio," 
requesting  "  the  author  of  the  New-England  Courant  " 
to  publish  "  the  words  tbat  were  spoken  to  Young  Frank- 
lin the  Printer,  Nov.  13,  1721,  (of  which  there  have 
been  many  lies  raised  as  the  manner  of  them  is  on  all 
occasions,)  "  as  follows :  — 

"  Youn<]  man :  You  entertain,  and  no  doubt  you  think  you  edify,  the 
public  with  a  weekly  paper  called  the  Courant.  The  plain  design  of 
your  paper  is  to  banter  and  abuse  the  ministers  of  God,  and,  if  you  can, 
to  defeat  all  the  good  effects  of  their  ministry  on  the  minds  of  the  peo- 
ple. You  may  do  well  to  remember  that  it  is  a  passage,  in  the  blessing 
on  the  tribe  of  Levi,  Smite  through  the  loins  of  them  that  rise  against  hivi, 
and  of  them  that  hate  him.  I  would  have  you  to  know  that  the  faithful 
ministers  of  Christ  in  tliis  place,  are  as  honest  and  useful  men  as  the 
ancient  Levites  were ;  and,  if  you  resolve  to  go  on  in  serving  their 
great  adversary  as  you  do,  you  must  expect  the  consequences." 

The  reason  of  this  faithful  admonition  was,  because  the  practice  of 
supporting  and  publishing  every  week  a  libel,  on  pui-pose  to  lessen  and 
blacken  and  burlesque  the  virtuous  and  principal  ministers  of  religion 
in  a  countiy,  and  render  all  the  services  of  their  ministry  despicable, 
and  even  detestable  to  the  people,  is  a  wickedness  that  was  never  known 
be/ore,  in  any  countrj-,  Clu'istian,  Turkish,  or  Pagan,  on  the  face  of  the 
earth,  and  some  good  men  are  afraid  it  may  provoke  Heaven  to  deal 
■with  this  place,  in  some  regards,  as  never  any  place  has  yet  been  dealt 
withal,  and  a  charity  to  this  young  man  and  his  accomplices  might  ren- 
der such  a  warning  proper  for  them. 

In  his  reply,  Franklin  says,  the  best  friend  he  had  in 
the  world  could  not  have  done  more  to  clear  up  his  repu- 
tation, and  he  closes  with  the  following,  which  he  quotes 
from  a  London  paper  :  — 

Tims  P sts,  by  strict  iniles, 

May  be  called  the  edge-tools, 

Which  the  people,  poor  fools, 

Are  forbidden  to  touch : 


JAMES    FRANKLIN. 


53 


Be  a  villain,  a  traitor, 

Affront  jour  Creator, 

Or  glory  in  Satire, 
It  safer  is,  much : 

Nay,  be  lewd,  drunk,  or  swear, 

Proud,  covetous  as  they're 

You  may  'scape  the  holy  snare ; 

But  if  a  P st  once  you  have  thoroughly  vext 

He'll  stick  by  you  closer  than  e'er  to  his  text : 

You're  plagued  for 't  in  this  woi-ld,  and  d d  in  the  next. 

Other  correspondents  of  the  Courant  attacked  the 
publisher  of  the  Gazette  and  his  Cambridge  correspond- 
ent ;  both  of  them  were  challenged  to  give  the  names  of 
the  persons  pointed  at  as  a  Hell-Fire  Club,  on  pain  of 
being  "  branded  with  infamy,  and  suffering  the  utmost 
rigor  that  the  law  could  inflict."  Dr.  Mather  openly 
denounced  the  Courant,  in  an  address  to  the  public, 
published  in  the  Gazette  of  Jan.  29,  of  which  the  fol- 
lowing is  a  copy,  and,  as  nearly  as  possible,  a  typograph- 
ical transcript : — 

Advice  to  the  Publick  from  Dr.  Increase  Mather.  Whereas  a  wicked 
Libel  called  the  New  England.  Courant,  has  represented  me  as  one  among 
the  Supporters  of  it ;  I  do  hereby  declare,  that  altho'  I  had  paid  for  two 
or  three  of  them,  I  then,  (before  the  last  Courant  was  published)  sent 
him  word  I  was  extreamly  offended  with  it !  In  special,  because  in  one 
of  his  Vile  Courants  he  insinuates,  that  if  the  Ministers  of  God  approve  of 
a  thing,  it  is  a  Sign  it  is  of  the  Devil ;  which  is  a  horrid  thing  to  be  relat- 
ed !  And  altho'  in  one  of  the  Courants  it  is  declared,  that  the  London 
Mercury  Sept.  16,  1721,  affirms  that  Great  Numbers  of  Persons  in  the 
City  and  Suburbs  are  under  the  Inoculation  of  the  Small  Pox ;  In  his 
next  Courant  he  asserts,  that  it  was  some  Busy  Inoculator,  that  imposed 
on  the  Publick  in  saying  so ;  Whereas  I  myself  saw  and  read  those  words 
in  the  London  Mercury :  And  he  doth  frequently  abuse  the  Ministers  of 
Religion,  and  many  other  worthy  Persons  in  a  manner,  which  is  intol- 
erable. For  these  and  such  like  Reasons  I  signified  to  the  Printer,  'that 
I  would  have  no  more  of  their  Wicked  Courants.  I  that  have  known 
what  New-England  was  from  tlie  Beginning,  cannot  but  be  troubled  to 
see  the  Degeneracy  of  this  Place.  I  can  well  remember  when  the  Civil 
5* 


54  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

Government  would  have  taken  an  effectual  Course  to  suppress  such  a 
Cursed  Libel !  which  if  it  be  not  done  I  am  afraid  that  some  Aicfid 
Judgment  will  come  upon  this  Land,  and  the  Wi-ath  of  God  will  arise, 
and  tliere  will  be  no  Remedy. 

I  cannot  but  pity  poor  Franllin,  who  tho'  but  a  Young  Man  it  may  be 
Speedily  he  must  appear  before  the  Judgment  Seat  of  God,  and  what 
answer  will  he  give  for  printing  things  so  vile  and  abominable  ?  And  I 
cannot  but  Ad^dise  the  Supporters  of  this  Courant  to  consider  the 
Consequences  of  being  Partakers  in  other  Mens  Sins,  and  no  more  Coun- 
tenance such  a  Wicked  Paper. 

To  this  Franklin   made  a   reply  in   the  Courant  of 

Feb.    5,  which  occupies  more  than  half  of  the  paper. 

After  a   few  introductory  remarks  upon  the  indulgence 

of  intemperate  zeal,  he  says  :  — 

A  furious  pretended  zeal,  which  only  regards  matters  of  opinion,  has 
been  improved  against  myself  with  a  design  to  destroy  my  reputation 
and  interest  amongst  tliose  who  are  strangers  to  my  person :  and  that 
this  design  might  be  the  better  carried  on,  some  persons  have  been  so 
undutiful  to  the  Reverend  Dr.  Increase  Mather,  as  to  persuade  him  to 
fix  his  name  to  an  advertisement  in  the  last  week's  News-Letter  and 
Gazette,  wherein  the  mildest  appellation  I  meet  with  is  that  of  a^^^cked 
and  cursed  Libeller.  This  charge  I  now  lie  under  from  the  oldest  min- 
ister in  the  Country,  and  in  order  to  clear  mjself,  I  shall  first  give  an 
account  of  the  first  cause  of  the  difference  between  us. 

He  then  proceeds  to  state  that  a  grandson  of  Dr. 
Mather  (Mather  Byles)  brought  him  an  account  of  the 
success  of  inoculation  in  London,  which  he  said  his 
grandfather  wished  to  have  inserted  in  the  Courant,  and 
that  he  had  copied  it  himself  from  the  London  iNIercury. 
Franklin  inserted  the  article,  but  on  examining  the  paper 
referred  to,  he  found  that  there  was  an  essential  differ- 
ence between  the  original  and  the  copy.  He  asserted 
in  his  next  paper  that  the  article  was  not  to  be  found  in 
the  London  Mercury.  "  Here  (says  he)  our  young 
spark  was  detected  in  a  downright  falsehood,  and  lost 
his  credit  with  Couranto."      He  then  considers  the  Doc- 


JAMES    TRANKLIN.       •  55 

tor's  advertisement,  first  observing  that  those  who  took 
advantage  of  liis  creditors  to  deceive  the  world,  are 
those  who  now  call  him  a  cursed  libeller:  — 

The  Doctor  first  endeavors  to  clear  himself  of  the  imputation  of 
being  one  among  the  supporters  of  the  Courant,  but  at  the  same  time 
acknowledges  that  he  had  paid  me  for  two  or  three  of  them.  He  might 
as  well  have  said  he  had  paid  me  for  many  more,  as  to  have  put  me  to 
the  brouble  of  proving  it.  Whether  he  remembers  it  or  no,  his  grand- 
son Byles,  by  his  order  desired  me  to  set  him  down  as  a  customer  some 
time  ago  ;  but  upon  the  appearance  of  a  letter  in  the  Courant,  wherein 
a  certaiu  clergyman  was  touched  upon,  he  dropt  it  as  a  subscril)er,  but 
sent  his  grandson  almost  every  week  for  a  considerable  time  to  buy 
them ;  by  which  method  he  paid  more  for  the  papers,  and  was  more  a 
supporter  of  it,  than  if  his  name  had  been  continued  on  the  list.  At 
length,  being  weary  of  sending,  he  became  a  subscriber  again,  and  ex- 
pressed no  dislike  of  the  paper  till  after  Mr.  Musgrave  had  published 
his  grandson's  Letter  in  the  Gazette  of  Jan.  15.  So  that  he  both  had 
and  paid  me  for  one  paper  after  that  which  he  so  much  dislikes.  The 
trath  of  this  I  am  ready  to  disclose  upon  oath  against  the  testimony  of 
all  the  men  in  the  country  —  and  that  he  has  been  a  subscriber  and 
suppoi'ter  of  the  paper,  the  following  Letter  under  his  o^vn  hand  will 
sufficiently  prove :  — 

"  Mr  Franklin,  I  had  thoughts  of  taking  your  Courant  (upon  trial) 
for  a  quarter  of  a  year ;  but  I  shall  not  now.  In  one  of  your  Courants 
you  have  said  that  if  the  Ministers  of  God  are  for  a  thing,  it  is  a  sign  it  is 
from  the  Devil,  and  have  dealt  very  falsely  about  the  London  Mercmy. 
For  these  and  other  reasons,  I  shall  NO  MORE  be  concerned  with  you. 
Your  well-wishing,  but  grieved  friend, 

I.  Mather. 

Franklin  goes  on  to  exonerate  himself  from  each  of 
the  Doctor's  charges,  in  detail,  and  commences  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

The  Doctor's  great  age,  his  exemplaiy  piety,  and  the  consideration  of 
his  being  imposed  on  by  others,  would  have  prevented  my  making  any 
remarks  on  his  advertisement,  if  my  own  character  had  not  been  inti- 
mately concerned  in  it. 

I  would  likewise  advise  the  enemies  of  the  Courant  not  to  publish 
any  thing  more  against  it,  uidess  they  are  willing  to  have  it  continued. 
What  they  have  already  done  has  been  resented  by  the  Town  so  much 


56  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

to  my  advantage,  that  above  forty  persons  have  subscribed  for  the 
Courant  since  the  first  of  January-,  many  of  whom  were  before  subscrib- 
ers to  the  other  papers :  And,  by  one  Advertisement  more,  the  Anti- 
Couranters  will  be  in  great  danger  of  adding  forty  more  to  my  list 
before  the  first  of  Slarch. 

P.  S.  In  a  Pamphlet  lately  published,  under  color  of  vindicating 
the  Ministers,  I  find  aU  persons  are  again  advised  not  to  countenance 
the  Courant ;  and  those  who  do  so  are  threatened  with  severe  judge- 
ments from  Heaven.  I  shall  take  notice  of  what  concerns  myself  in 
my  next,  if  a  profane  Son  of  Corah,  a  Child  of  the  Old  Serpent,  &c. 
may  be  allowed  to  defend  himself 

Agreeably  to  his  promise,  in  his  next  paper  Frankhn 
defended  himself  and  his  correspondents  against  the 
charges  in  the  Pamphlet,  as  follows :  — 

Reiwvat  prlstina  bdla. 

'Tis  the  misfortune  of  many  a  good  man,  to  construe  all  that  is  said 
against  his  opinion  (in  matters  of  indiflerence)  to  be  against  religion, 
which  is  in  eftcct  to  derive  it  from  the  power  and  pleasure  of  men ;  and 
ends  (in  its  consequences)  to  destroy  all  religion,  and  to  bring  men  at 
last  to  no  religion.  'Tis  a  sure  pledge  of  Atheism ;  for  let  men  once  l)e 
condemned  as  in-eligious  for  opposing  only  the  humors  of  those  who 
profess  religion,  they  will  naturally  be  tempted  to  say,  7^hat  religion  is 
nothing  but  humor.  Keligion  derives  its  authority  from  God  alone,  and 
will  not  be  kept  up  in  the  consciences  of  men  by  any  human  Power. 

If  the  author  of  a  late  Pamphlet  (published  under  pretence  of  vindi- 
cating the  Ministers)  had  turned  his  thoughts  this  way,  he  would  never 
have  ^vrote  a  thing  so  much  to  the  dishonor  of  God,  the  discredit  of  our 
holy  religion  and  the  ministers  of  it.  But  he  has  thrown  a  praise  in  his 
own  face  till  he  is  blind  to  his  own  failings ;  and  (to  speak  like  him- 
self) quarrels  with  his  neighbors  because  they  do  not  look  smd  think 
just  as  he  would  have  them.  He  calls  myself  and  several  others.  Pro- 
fane Sons  of  Corah,  Children  of  the  Old  Serpent,  Ahjects,  daringly  profane, 
&c. ;  and  without  proving  any  thing  criminal  against  us,  earnestly  calls 
on  his  dear  friends  and  neighbors  to  depart  from  the  tents  of  these  wicked 
men,  lest  they  perish  with  them. 

If  the  Com'ant  is  indeed  notoriously  prostituted  to  a  Hellish  servitude, 
(as  he  insinuates,  p.  3)  then  there  is  reason  for  this  advice  to  his  friends  ; 
but  what  he  recites  from  No.  2.3,  (which  he  takes  to  be  the  worst 
charge  against  the  ministers,  by  distinguishing  the  words  in  black  letter) 
•will  no  ways  prove  it.     The  words  he  recites  are,  Most  of  the  ministers 


JAMES     FRANKLIN.  57 

are  for  it,  and  that  induces  me  to  think  it  is  from  the  Devil;  Imt  he  pur- 
posely omits  the  latter  part  of  the  sentence,  viz.  For  he  often  makes  use 
of  good  men  as  instruments  to  obtrude  his  delusions  on  the  world. 

By  this  iinfiiir  way  of  writing,  we  may  persuade  those  who  are 
strangers  to  this  gentleman  that  he  often  speaks  blasjjhemy  in  the  pul- 
pit —  as  thus  —  I  with  some  others  go  to  hear  him,  and  he  mentions 
tliat  place  of  Scripture,  The  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart,  there  is  no  God  — 
we  (designing  to  laiin  his  reputation,  and  the  success  of  his  ministry) 
publish  it  to  the  world  that  he  said,  There  was  no  God.  But  there  has 
been  nothing  of  this  nature  in  the  Courant,  and  until  there  is,  let  him 
reserve  liis  ci-uel  invectives  for  those  who  deserve  them,  (if  such  there 
be,  which  I  much  question,)  otherwise,  his  warning  of  sinners  will  be 
labor  in  vain,  and  in  preaching  the  Gospel,  he  mil  spend  his  strength  for 
naught. 

These  things  considered,  let  any  one  judge,  whether  the  author  of  this 
Pamphlet  has  not  done  more  towards  making  the  ministers  despicable 
and  detestable  to  their  people,  than  any  thing  in  the  Courant,  which  he 
calls  a  scandalous  libel.  I  doubt  not  but  it  would  grieve  him  to  h^r,  that 
his  abusing  his  neighbors  under  color  of  religion,  has  been  such  a  stum- 
bling-block to  some,  that  they  were  even  tempted  to  think  religion  to  be 
nothing  but  a  cheat  or  contrivance,  imposed  on  the  world  upon  politic 
groimds :  But  this  I  assure  him  I  have  often  heard  of  late ;  and  this,  if 
any  thing,  will  persuade  me  to  be  silent  to  any  other  pieces  of  tliis 
nature  published  against  me,  unless  the  authors  first  endeavor  to  prove 
what  they  assert,  before  they  pronounce  judgement  against  me  as  a 
Castaway,  which  if  they  had  done,  the  To'wn  would  more  easily  have 
beheved  a  false  and  groundless  report,  lately  raised  to  my  disadvantage. 

It  was  reported  by  some  of  Franklin's  opponents  that 

his  paper  was  "  carried  on  by  a  Hell-Fire  Club,  with  a 

Non-Juror  at  the  head  of  them."     If  the  Mathers  did 

not  originate  the  story,  it  seems  they  gave  it  currency. 

In  the  paper  of  January  22,  1722,  Franklin  notices  this 

and  some  other  attacks  of  his  adversaries,  and  adds,  — 

These,  with  many  other  endeavors,  proceeding  from  an  arbitraiy  and 
selfish  temper,  have  been  attended  with  their  hearty  curses  on  the 
Courant  and  its  publisher ;  but  all  to  no  puipose ;  for,  as  a  Connecticut 
ti'ader  once  said  of  his  onions,  The  more  they  are  cursed,  the  more  they 
groio.    Notwithstanding  which,  a  young  scribbling  collegian,*  who  has 

*  Mather  Byles. 


58  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

just  learning  enough  to  make  a  fool  of  himself,  has  taken  it  in  his  head 
to  put  a  stop  to  this  ivickedness,  (as  he  calls  it)  by  a  letter  in  the  last 
week's  Gazette.  Poor  Boy  I  When  your  letter  comes  to  be  seen  in 
other  countries,  (under  the  umbrage  of  authority)  uhat  indeed  will  they 
think  of  New-England  !  They  will  certainly  conclude,  There  is  hloody 
Jishing  for  nonsense  at  Cambridge,  and  sad  work  at  the  College.  The 
young  ^vTctch,  when  he  calls  those  who  wrote  the  several  pieces  in  the 
Courant  the  Hell-Fire  Club  of  Boston,  and  finds  a  godfather  for  them, 
(which,  by  the  way,  is  a  Hellish  mockery  of  the  ordinance  of  baptism, 
as  administered  by  the  Church  of  England,)  and  tells  us.  That  all  the 
supporters  oj  the  paper  will  be  looked  upon  as  destroyers  of  the  reliffion  of  the 
country,  and  enemies  to  the  faithful  ministers  of  it,  little  thinks  what  a  cruel 
reflection  he  throws  on  his  reverend  grandfather,  who  was  then  and  for 
some  time  before,  a  subscriber  for  the  paper. 
***** 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  me,  that  I  never  inserted  any  thing  in  the  Courant, 
which  charged  any  man,  or  society  of  men,  with  being  guilty  of  the 
crimes,  which  were  peculiar  to  the  Hell-Fire  Clul)  in  London,  and 
which   the  devils   themselves   are  not  capable  of  perpetrating.     And 

whether  Mr.  M c*  or  his  young  champion  know  it  or  no  'tis  looked 

upon  as  a  gross  reflection  on  the  govenmient;  that  they  should  he  told 
of  a  Hell-Fire  Club  in  Boston  (in  a  paper  published  by  authority)  and  not 
use  their  endeavors  to  discover  who  thej'  are,  in  order  to  punish  them. 

Tn  the  same  paper,  one  of  the  correspondents  of  the 
Courant  addresses  a  letter  to  Musgrave,  from  which  the 
following  is  an  extract :  — 

To  the  Gazetteer. 

Hall's  Coffee  House,  Jan.  20,  1722. 
Old  Muss. 

I  am  not  a  little  concerned  at  the  loss  you  weekly  sustain 
of  customers,  by  your  encouraging  a  certain  paper  called  the  Courant. 
It  seems  you  gave  the  occasion  of  its  firs;t  aj)pearance  in  this  town,  by 
publishing  a  viinisterial  inoculation  letter,  which  has  l)ccn  a  fund  of  good 
diversion  for  some  months  past.  You  still  continue,  from  time  to  time, 
to  aflbrd  the  Couranteer  opportunities  of  answering  as  agreeably.  Pray, 
unless  you  go  shares  with  Couranto,  consult  your  own  interest  more. 
In  quality  of  Postmaster,  you  have  the  best  opportunity  to  excel,  and 

*  Musgrave,  the  Postmaster,  proprietor,  and  publisher  of  the  Boston  Gazette,  the 
official  paper  of  the  government. 


JAMES    FRANKLIN.  59 

recommend  your  paper  by  the  freshest  and  best  intelligences,  foreign 
and  domestic  :  As  Authority  News-  Writer,  let  the  spare  places  in  your 
paper  be  filled  with  Speeches,  Addi-esses,  Proclamations,  and  other  pub- 
lic notifications :  but,  above  aU,  let  the  seat  of  the  Muses  be  sacred. 
May  nothing  that  is  wicked,  false,  dull, -or  childish,  be  said  to  come 
from  our  Alma  mater  Cantabrigia  ;  from  thence  we  expect  solid  sense 
and  bright  wit. 

In  the  same  paper,  in  which  the  preceding  defence 
was  published,  Franklin  inserted  the  following  account 
of  the  Hell-Fire  Club,  from  a  London  paper,  which  he 
states,  he  had  then  "just  received  from  a  Gentleman, 
who,  by  his  office,  is  obliged  to  make  inquiry,  whether 
any  of  His  Majesty's  subjects  here  are  guilty  of  the  like 
horrid  impieties,  as  has  been  insinuated  of  late  by  the 
sworn  enemies  of  the  Courant. "  He  hoped  that  its 
publication  would  do  some  justice  to  the  country  and 
conclude  the  quarrel,  in  which  he  was  engaged  :  — 

The  Hell-Fire  Club  consisted  of  about  forty  pei'sons  of  both  sexes  ; 
fifteen  of  them  were  said  to  be  ladies  of  considerable  quality.  They 
blasphemously  assumed  to  themselves  the  tremendous  names  of  God 
the  Father,  God  the  Son,  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
the  Prophets  Enoch,  Elijah,  Elisha,  Samuel,  Jeremiah,  Joshua,  Isaiah, 
the  Twelve  Patriarchs,  Moses,  Aaron,  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  Mary 
Magdalen,  St.  Martha,  lung  Daniel,  the  Twelve  Apostles,  and  Joseph 
the  Father  of  Jesus. 

The  parts  acted  by  the  Demi  Red  Dragon  Club,  were  Beelzebub 
King  of  Hell,  Old  Pluto,  the  Old  Devil,  Old  iEacus,  the  Young  Devil, 
the  Serjjent,  Lady  Envy,  Lady  Malice,  Proserpina  Queen  of  Hell,  the 
Three  Fatal  Sisters. 

The  parts  acted  by  the  Sulphur  Club  were  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 
Pride,  Lust,  Anger,  Revenge,  Polygamy,  Incest,  Adultery,  Fornication, 
Self-Defiler,  &c. 

Lender  these  distinctions  did  they  abuse  all  piety,  and  ridicule  the 
attributes  and  perfections  of  the  Blessed  Trinity,  in  a  manner  very  unfit 
to  be  related. 

Their  chief  place  of  rendezvous  was  sometimes  in  Conduit-street, 
near  Hanover  Square,  or  else  at  a  house  in  Westminster,  or  at  Somer- 
set-House, where  they  erected  an  altar  dedicated  to  the  Devil,  having 


60  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

two  devils  on  the  frame  thereof.  They  usually  set  round  an  oval  table, 
and  each  ha\"ing  assumed  such  names  as  above-mentioned,  began  ^vith 
an  im]jious  health  to  the  Devil. 

Four  of  these  daring  wretches  were  ('tis  to  be  feared)  cut  off  in  the 
midst  of  their  impieties  by  the  hand  of  divine  vengeance.  Two  of  them 
in  a  debauch  at  Somerset- House  on  the  Loi'd's  day,  who  caused  music 
to  be  played  to  them  in  time  of  divine  service,  and  persons  who  there 
drunk  a  most  blasphemous  health,  died  the  same  evening,  and  the  other 
soon  after.  A  young  lady,  who,  as  'tis  said,  called  herself  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  died  in  the  flower  of  her  youth.  The  other,  a  woman  of  dis- 
tinction, died  at  dinner. 

These  impious  cabals  soon  reached  the  ears  of  his  most  sacred  Majes- 
ty, who,  out  of  tender  regard  to  the  Spiritual  welfare  of  his  people, 
ordered  his  ministers  of  state  to  take  proper  methods  to  suppress  such 
detestable  practices ;  whereupon  an  order  of  coimcil  was  issued  out  for 
that  purjjose. 

The  controversy  was  kept  up  for  some  weeks  longer, 
but  both  parties  at  length  seemed  to  be  tired  of  the 
game.  Franklin  published  two  or  three  Dialogues  be- 
tween a  Clergyman  and  a  Layman,  in  which,  of  course, 
the  Layman  had  the  best  of  the  argument.  He  pub- 
lished also  a  mock  advertisement  of  a  doctor,  who  could 
cure  all  sorts  of  disorders,  and  cautioned  the  public  to 
beware  of  quacks.  The  fictitious  doctor  tells  of  various 
miraculous  cures,  but  in  a  style  that  cannot  be  repeated, 
and  calls  loudly  for  patients  that  are  for  inoculation. 
There  were  also  two  or  three  articles  written  in  the 
"  Mundungian  Language,"  said  to  be  for  the  benefit  of 
^'  Harfet  Coleg/^  who  "strive  in  vain,  or  are  too  lazy, 
to  learn  the  other  learned  tongues.^' 

Mr.  Thomas  says,  —  "  Among  the  reasons  which  in- 
duced Franklin  to  publish  the  Courant,  probably  one, 
which  was  not  the  least  considerable,  was  grounded  on 
the  circumstance  of  the  publisher  of  the  Gazette  having 
taken  the  printing  of  it  from  him,  and  given  it  to  another 


JAMES    FRANKLIN.  ©i 

printer.  He  warmly  attacked  Musgrave,  the  publisher 
of  the  Gazette,  in  some  of  the  first  numbers  of  the 
Courant,  and  endeavored  to  have  him  turned  out  of 
office."  The  first  allusion  to  Musgrave,  which  I  find  in 
the  Courant,  is  in  Number  23,  which  contains  a  letter, 
signed  "  Lucillus,"  questioning  him  as  to  certain  omis- 
sions of  official  duty  in  the  delivery  of  letters,  —  whether 
he  does  not  give  people  great  reason  to  suspect  his  hon- 
esty, by  concealing  letters,  which  have  money  enclosed 
in  them,  —  and  "  whether  so  many  letters  taken  out  of 
the  office  opened,  ought  always  to  be  attributed  to  the 
badness  of  the  sealing-wax."  The  writer  thus  continues 
the  attack  :  — 

The  old  proverb,  Be  not  a  baker,  if  your  head  be  made  of  butter,  is  very 
applicable  to  yoiu'self.  We  all  know  you  have  a  soft  head,  which  cau- 
not  long  endure  the  fire  of  your  own  kindling  among  the  people :  They 
are  resolved  to  use  their  utmost  endca-\'ors  to  get  you  removed ;  which 
if  they  do,  your  head  will  be  in  great  danger  of  melting. 

A  famous  title  now  you  boast  on  — 

P st-M r  of  the  town  of  B n ; 

But  when  your  unctuous  head  is  lost, 

You  wQl  become  a  MASTER-Post. 

How  will  you  look  at  Cambridge  Races, 

'Mongst  idle  fops  and  gaping  asses  1 

You,  not  the  least  of  all  the  crew. 

Will  be  exposed  to  laughter  too ; 

Kay,  it  wUl  frighten  all  ])eholdcrs. 

To  see  your  head  run  down  your  shoulders ; 

Yet  this  will  be  your  fatal  end, 

Unless  you  timely  do  amend. 

Think  of  this,  and  quench  the  fire. 

I  am;  Sir, 

Your  obedient  servant. 

There  were  many  other  communications  of  a  similar 
tone,  and  occasionally  a  squib  from  Franklin  himself, 
6 


62  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

but  they  probably  had  no  effect  in  hastening  the  removal 
of  Musgrave. 

As  the  controversy  concerning  the  small-pox  subsided, 
a  series  of  articles  was  begun  in  the  Courant,  by  a 
writer,  or  writers,  who  adopted  the  style  of  a  female  and 
the  signature  of  "  Silence  Dogood."  The  first  two 
numbers  give  an  account  of  the  birth,  parentage,  educa- 
tion, marriage,  and  widowhood  of  Mrs.  Dogood.  In  the 
third  she  states  her  object  in  writing  these  essays,  and 
the  fourth  is  the  Dream,  which  follows  :  — 

I  fancied  I  was  traveling  over  pleasant  and  delightful  fields  and 
meadows,  and  through  many  small  country  towns  and  villages ;  and,  as 
I  passed  along,  all  places  resounded  with  the  fame  of  the  Temple  of 
LEARNING :  Every  peasant,  who  had  wherewithal,  was  proposing  to 
send  one  of  his  children  at  least  to  this  famous  place  ;  and  in  this  case 
most  of  them  consulted  their  o^vn  purses  instead  of  their  children's  ca- 
pacities. So  that  I  observed  a  great  many,  yea,  the  most  part  of  those 
who  were  traveling  thither,  were  little  better  than  blockheads  and 
dunces.    Alas !  Alas ! 

At  length  I  entered  upon  a  spacious  plain,  in  the  midst  of  which  was 
erected  a  large  and  stately  edifice :  It  was  to  tlais  that  a  great  company 
of  youths  from  all  parts  of  the  country  were  going;  so  stepping  in 
among  the  crowd,  I  passed  on  with  them,  and  presently  arrived  at  the 
gate. 

The  passage  was  kept  by  two  sturdy  porters,  named  Riches  and  Pov- 
erty, and  the  latter  obstinately  refused  to  give  entrance  to  any  who  had 
not  first  gained  the  favor  of  the  fonner ;  so  that  I  observed  many,  who 
came  even  to  the  very  gate,  were  obliged  to  travel  back  again  as  igno- 
rant as  they  came,  for  want  of  the  necessary  qualification.  However, 
as  a  spectator  I  gained  admittance,  and  with  the  rest  entered  dii-ectly 
into  the  temple. 

In  the  middle  of  the  great  hall  stood  a  stately  and  magnificent  throne, 
which  was  ascended  by  two  high  and  difiicult  steps.  On  the  top  of  it 
sat  Learning,  in  awful  state.  She  was  appareled  wholly  in  black,  and 
sun'ounded  almost  on  every  side  with  innumerable  volumes  in  all  lan- 
guages. She  seemed  very  busily  employed  in  -wTiting  something  on 
half  a  sheet  of  paper,  and,  upon  inquiry,  I  understood  she  was  prepar- 
ing a  paper,  called  The  New-England  Courant.  On  her  right  hand  sat 
English,  with  a  pleasant,  smiling  countenance,  and  handsomely  attu-ed  ; 


JAMES    FRANKLIN.  6o> 

and  on  her  left  were  seated  several  antique  fif^ires,  with  their  faces 
veiled.  I  was  considerably  puzzled  to  guess  who  they  were,  until  one 
informed  me  (who  stood  behind  me)  that  those  figures  on  the  left  hand 
were  Latin,  Greek,  Hehreic,  &c.  and  that  they  were  veiy  much  reserved, 
and  seldom  or  never  unveiled  their  faces  here,  and  then  to  few  or  none, 
though  most  of  those  who  have  in  this  place  acquired  so  much  learning 
as  to  distinguish  tliem  from  English,  pretended  to  an  intimate  acqiiaint- 
ance  with  tiicm.  I  tlien  enquired  of  him,  what  could  be  the  reason 
why  they  continued  veiled,  in  this  place  especially  1  He  pointed  to  the 
foot  of  the  throne,  where  I  saw  Idleness,  attended  with  Ignorance,  and 
these  (he  informed  me)  first  veiled  them,  and  will  keep  them  so. 

Now  I  observed  the  whole  tribe  who  entered  into  the  temple  with  me 
began  to  climb  the  throne  ;  but  the  work  proving  troublesome  and  diffi- 
cult to  most  of  them,  they  witlidrew  their  hands  from  the  plough,  and 
contented  themselves  to  sit  at  the  foot  with  Madam  Idleness  and  her 
maid  Ignorance,  until  those  who  were  assisted  by  diligence  and  a  double 
temper  had  well  nigh  got  iq)  the  first  step :  But  the  time  drawing  nigh 
in  which  they  could  no  way  avoid  ascending,  they  were  fain  to  crave 
the  assistance  of  those  who  had  got  up  before  them,  and  who,  for  the 
reward,  perhaps,  of  a  pint  of  milk,  or  a  piece  of  plumb-cake,  lent  the  lub- 
bers a  hand,  and  sat  them,  in  the  eye  of  the  world  upon  a  level  with 
themselves. 

The  other  step  being  in  the  same  manner  ascended,  and  the  usual 
ceremonies  at  an  end,  every  beetle-skull  seemed  well  satisfied  with  his 
own  portion  of  learning,  though  perhaps  he  were  e^enjust  as  ignorant  as 
ever.  And  now  the  time  of  their  departure  being  come,  they  marched 
out  of  doors  to  make  room  for  another  company,  who  w-aited  for  en- 
trance: and  I,  having  seen  all  that  was  to  be  seen,  quitted  the  hall,  like- 
wise, and  went  to  make  my  observations  on  those  who  were  just  gone 
out  before  me. 

Some,  I  perceived,  took  to  merchandizing,  others  to  traveling,  some 
to  one  thing,  some  to  another,  and  some  to  nothing ;  and  many  of  these, 
henceforth,  for  want  of  patrimony,  lived  as  poor  as  church  mice,  being 
unable  to  dig  and  ashamed  to  Iwg,  and  to  live  by  their  wits  it  was  impos- 
sible. But  the  most  part  of  the  crowd  went  along  a  large  beaten  path 
which  led  to  a  temple  at  the  further  end  of  the  plain,  called,  The  Tem- 
ple of  Theology.  The  business  of  those,  who  were  employed  in  this 
temple,  being  laborious  and  painful,  I  wondered  exceedingly  to  see  so 
many  go  towards  it ;  but  while  I  was  pondering  this  matter  in  my  mind, 
I  spied  Pecunia  behind  a  curtain,  beckoning  to  them  with  her  hand, 
which  sight  immediately  satisfied  me  for  whose  sake  it  was,  that  a  great 
part  of  them,  (I  will  not  say  all)  traveled  that  road.    In  this  temple  I 


64  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

saw  nothing  worth  mentioning,  except  the  ambitious  and  fraudulent 
contrivances  of  Plcujius,  who  (notwithstanding  he  had  been  severely 
reprehended  for  such  practices  before)  was  diligently  transcribing  some 
eloquent  paragraplis  out  of  Tillotson's  AVorks,  &c.  to  embellish  his  o\vn. 

Now  I  bethought  myself  in  my  sleep,  that  it  was  time  to  be  at  home; 
and,  as  I  fancied  I  was  traveling' back  thither,  I  reflected  in  my  mind  on 
the  extreme  folly  of  those  parents,  who,  blind  to  their  children's  dull- 
ness, and  insensible  of  the  solidity  of  their  skulls,  because  they  think 
their  purses  can  aiFord  it,  will  needs  send  them  to  the  Temple  of  Learn- 
ing, where,  for  want  of  a  suitable  genius,  they  learn  little  more  than 
now  to  carry  themselves  handsomely,  and  enter  a  room  genteelly, 
(which  might  as  well  be  acquired  at  a  dancing  school,)  and  from  whence 
they  return,  after  abundance  of  trouble  and  charge,  as  great  blockheads 
as  ever,  only  more  proud  and  self-conceited. 

Wliile  I  was  in  the  midst  of  these  impleasant  reflections,  Clericus, 
(who,  with  a  book  in  his  hand  was  walking  under  the  trees)  accidentally 
awaked  me ;  to  him  I  related  my  dream,  with  all  its  particulars,  and  he, 
without  much  study  presently  interpreted  it,  assuiing  me,  That  it 
was  a  lively  representation  of  Harvard  College,  et  cetera. 

The  essays  of  Mrs.  Dogood  were  on  various  subjects, 
and  of  very  unequal  merit  in  composition.  They  were 
doubtless  the  work  of  different  hands,  though  I  think 
chiefly  from  the  pen  of  Benjamin  Franklin.  Here  fol- 
lows an  extract  from  No.  VII.  :  — 

There  has  lately  appeared  among  us  a  most  excellent  piece  of  Poetry, 
entituled,  An  Elegij  upon  the  much  lamented  Death  of  Mrs.  Mehitabell 
Kitel,  wife  of  Mr.  John  KiteJl  of  Salem,  &c.  It  may  justly  be  said  in  its 
praise,  without  flattery  to  the  author,  that  it  is  the  most  extraordinary 
piece,  that  ever  was  wrote  in  New-England.  The  language  is  so  soft 
and  easy,  the  expression  so  moving  and  pathetic;  but,  above  all,  the 
verse  and  numbers  so  charming  and  natural,  that  it  is  almost  beyond 
comparison.  I  find  no  English  author,  ancient  or  modem,  whose  ele- 
gies may  be  compared  with  this,  in  respect  to  the  elegance  of  style,  or 
smoothness  of  rliyme ;  and,  for  the  affecting  part,  I  will  leave  your 
readers  to  judge,  if  thej'  ever  read  any  lines,  that  would  sooner  make 
them  di-aio  their  breath  and  sigh,  if  not  shed  tears,  than  these  fol- 
lowing :  — 

Come  let  us  mourn,  for  we  Iiave  lost  a  wife,  a  daughter,  and  a  sister, 
Who  has  lately  taken  flight,  and  greatly  we  have  mist  her. 


JAMES    FRANKLIN. 


m 


Some  little  time  before  she  yielded  her  breath, 

She  said,  I  ne^er  shall  hear  one  sermon  more  on  earth. 

She  kist  her  husband  some  little  time  before  she  expired, 

Then  leaned  her  head  the  pillow  on,  just  out  of  breath  and  tired. 

****** 

I  should  be  very  much  straitened  for  room,  if  I  should  attempt  to 
discover  even  half  tlic  excellences  of  this  Elegy,  which  are  obvious  to 
me.  Yet  I  cannot  omit  one  observation,  which  is,  that  the  author  has, 
(to  his  honor)  invented  a  new  species  of  poetry,  which  wants  a  name, 
and  was  never  before  known.  His  muse  scorns  to  be  confined  to  the  old 
measures  and  limits,  or  to  obseiwe  the  dull  rules  of  critics  ;  — 
Nor  Rapin  gives  her  rules  to  fly,  nor 
Purcell  notes  to  sing. 

Now  'tis  pity  that  such  an  excellent  piece  should  not  be  dignified  with 
a  particular  name;  and,  seeing  it  cannot  justly  be  called  cither  Epic, 
Sapphic,  Lyric,  or  Pindaric,  nor  any  other  name  yet  invented,  I  presume 
it  may,  (in  honor  and  remembrance  of  the  dead)  be  called  the  Kitellic. 

"  Mrs.  Dogood  "  continued  to  furnish  a  column  or  two 
at  a  time  till  near  the  close  of  the  year  1722.  The  last 
of  her  essays  contains  some  wholesome  admonition  con- 
cerning drunkenness,  from  which  the  following  is  an 
extract : — 

I  cannot  pretend  to  account  for  the  different  effects  of  liquor  on  per- 
sons of  difl'ei'ent  dispositions,  who  are  gtiilty  of  excess  in  the  use  of  it- 
'Tis  strange  to  see  men  of  a  regular  conversation  become  rakish  and 
profane  when  intoxicated  with  drink,  and  yet  more  surprizing  to  observe, 
that  some,  who  appear  to  be  the  most  profligate  wretches  when  sober, 
become  mighty  religious  in  their  cups,  and  will  then,  and  at  no  other 
time  address  their  Maker,  but  when  they  are  destitute  of  reason,  and 
actually  affronting  him.  Some  shrink  in  the  melting,  and  others  swell 
to  such  an  unusual  bulk  in  their  imaginations,  that  they  can  in  an  in- 
stant understand  all  arts  and  sciences,  by  the  liberal  education  of  a 
little  vivifying  Punch,  or  a  sufficient  quantity  of  other  vivifying  liquor. 

And  as  the  effects  of  liquor  are  various,  so  are  the  characters  given 
to  its  devourers.  It  argues  some  shame  in  the  drunkards  themselves,  in 
that  they  have  invented  numberless  words  and  phrases  to  cover  their 
folly,  whose  proper  significations  are  harmless,  or  have  no  signification 
at  all.  They  are  seldom  known  to  be  drunk,  though  they  are  very  often 
Boozey,  Cozey,  Tipsy,  Fofd,  Merry,  Mellow,  Fuddled,  Groatable,  Confound- 
ed 


66  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

edly  cut,  See  two  moons,  are  Among  the  Philestines,  In  a  very  good  humor. 
See  the  sun,  or  The  sun  has  shone  upon  them ;  they  Clip  the  Icing's  English, 
arc  Almost  froze,  Feverish,  In  their  attitudes.  Pretty  well  entered,  &c.  In 
short,  CYCTj  day  produces  some  new  word  or  phrase,  which  might  be 
added  to  the  vocabulary  of  the  tipplers ;  but  I  have  chose  to  mention 
these  few,  because  if,  at  any  time,  a  man  of  sobriety  and  temperance 
happens  to  cut  himself  confoundedly,  or  is  almost  froze,  or  feverish,  or  acci- 
dentally sees  the  sun,  &c.  he  may  escape  the  imputation  of  being  drunk, 
when  his  misfortune  comes  to  be  related. 

The  Courant  of  July  16,  (No.  50)  has  the  following 
article :  — * 
And  then,  after  they  had  anathematized  and  cursed  a  man  to  the 


Devil,  and  the  Devil  did  not  or  uvuld  not  take  him,  then  to  make  the  Sheriff 
and  the  Jaylor  to  take  the  DcviPs  leavings.  Postscript  to  Ilickeringill's 
Sermon  on  the  Horrid  Sin  of  Man-Catcliing,  page  39. 

I  can  compare  the  following  letter  to  nothing  else  but  the  pelting  a 
criminal  with  rotten  eggs,  wliile  he  is  suffering  the  law ;  and,  after  asking 
my  reader's  pardon,  I  shall  offer  it  to  them  as  such ;  at  the  same  time 
desiring  the  writers  of  it  to  bear  with  patience  tlie  unwelcome  news  of 
my  enlargement.     And,  as  I  never  published  any  thing  with  a  design  to 
affront  the  Government,  so  I  promise  to  proceed  with  the  like  caution, 
as  long  as  I  have  the  liberty  granted  me  of  following  my  business. 
A  Letter  to   Couranto  from  one  of  his  most  eminent  friends,  on  the  joyful 
news  of  his  imprisonment. 
Thrust  into  the  Grate  by  an  unknown  Hand. 
Unhappy  Man, 

The  crimes  you  have  been  guilty  of  are  so  numerous  and  heinous, 
that  we  think  no  punishment  severe  enough  to  be  inflicted  on  you. 

♦  This  article,  as  will  be  perceived,  was  written  after  Franklin's  release  from 
prison.  The  Orders  of  Council,  by  which  he  was  arrested  and  imprisoned,  are 
given  at  length  in  Mr.  Thomas's  History,  vol.  ii.  p.  217-220.  Mr.  Thomas  says  : 
"  Franklin  w-as  imprisoned  four  weeks  in  the  common  gaol."  This  is  probably 
correct,  but  I  find  no  account  of  his  arrest  in  the  Courant,  nor  is  the  time  of  his 
''  enlargement  "  stated  in  any  other  place,  that  I  can  discover,  than  the  introduc- 
tory paragraph  in  the  extract  here  given. 

In  a  note  to  page  21S,  vol.  ii.  Mr.  Thomas  says,  —  "  No.  52  has  this  advertise- 
ment. '  This  paper  (No.  52)  begins  the  fifth  quarter,  and  those  that  have  not 
paid  for  TUB  L.\SII  are  desired  to  send  their  money,  or  pay  it  to  the  bearer.'  " 
There  are  two  rather  singular  mistakes  in  this  note.  It  is  No.  53  —  not  52  — 
■whieh  contains  the  advertisement  in  question.  But  the  word  "  lash,"  which  Mr. 
Thomas  has  printed  in  capitals,  is  not  in  it.  The  word  is  last  —  and  the  call  is  to 
those,  that  have  not  paid  for  the  last  quarter.    In  the  copy  now  before  me,  which 


JAMES    FRANKLIN. 


m 


The  manifest  design  of  your  paper  is  to  abuse  our  reverend  Clergy, 
and  reproach  our  learned  Youth,  to  revile  the  Government,  and  disaffect 
the  people  to  the  present  administration,  which  we  are  sure,  any  man 
may,  and  every  man  ought  to  be  easy  under. 
O  Rare  Couranto  ! 

We  justly  triumph  in  your  righteous  fate, 

You  impious  wi-etch,  that  lashed  both  church  and  state, 

Father  of  discord,  maker  of  division, 

Broacher  of  strife,  and  sower  of  sedition, 

Fomenter  of  contention  and  debate. 

And  feuds  in  family,  in  church  and  state. 

What !  such  a  scoundrel  rascal  take  in  hand 

To  banish  vice,  and  to  reform  our  land, 

Boldly  to  reprimand  om-  reverend  seers. 

And  lug  our  Ghostly  Fathers  by  the  ears ; 

To  tax  our  learned  Youth  with  want  of  Knowledge, 

And  impudently  satirize  our  College ; 

To  load  our  pious  Judges  ■with  disgrace. 

And  fault  our  Rulers  to  their  very  face ! 

Oh,  scoundrel  wretch !  Your  vile  Courant  has  spread 

Its  poison  far  and  wide  !    No  matter  you  were  dead. 

And  your  Courants  all  bm-nt,  that  have  such  discord  bred. 

Your  scandalous  defamatory  libel 

Is  praised  and  prized  by  some  above  the  Bible, 

And  more  devoutly  read  ;  But  yet  we  dare  aver. 

It  does  more  hurt  than  famine,  plague,  and  war. 

And  do  you  think  a  jail  too  bad  for  you. 

And  all  the  rest  of  your  seditious  crew  1 

Why  do  you  pine  so,  and  your  speech  so  falter, 

You  impious  wi-etch,  when  you  deserve  a  halter, 

Or,  in  a  stinking  jail  to  lie  and  rot  1 

Nor  should  good  people  pity  you  a  jot. 

Fellow !  be  easy,  cease  yom-  grumbling  din, 

For  better  men  before  you  have  been  in ; 

By  H — 11-b — m  Revol — on  manied  there. 

Nor  did  they  grumble,  languish,  or  despair. 

Marry,  good  Sir !  a  jail  me  think's  too  good 

For  you,  and  others  of  the  factious  brood ; 

I  presume  is  the  copy  that  Mr  Thomas  had  when  he  wrote,  some  person  lias 
made  a  bh>t  on  the  final  letter  of  the  word,  —  apparently  with  a  pen  —  with  an 
intent  perhaps  to  make  the  t  resemble  an  h.  But  the  attempt  was  abortive  and  is 
easily  detected. 


68  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

We  hope  to  see  you  on  a  gibbet  dangle, 

With  all  the  meddling  crew,  tliat  come  to  \\Tangle. 

In  his  remarks  upon  this  congratulatory  epistle,  Frank- 
lin makes  a  quotation  from  a  speech  of  JMr.  Atstabie  to 
the  House  of  Lords,  and  concludes  by  saying  — "  It 
was  no  mitigation  of  my  punishment,  to  think  that  better 
men  than  myself  had  been  in  prison  before  me.  I  know 
the  late  Governor  Dudley  was  confined  in  the  time  of 
the  Revolution ;  but  I  never  could  perceive  that  the 
gaol  stank  a  whit  the  less  for  him."  * 

It  does  not  appear  that  these  proceedings  had  any 
effect  in  checking  the  freedom,  with  which  Franklin  and 
his  correspondents  chose  to  comment  on  public  men  and 
measures.  The  paper  of  July  30th  is  occupied  almost 
entirely  with  a  chapter  of  Magna  Charta,  and  the  com- 
ments of  a  correspondent,  intended  to  show  the  illegality 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  government.  Almost  every 
paper,  for  several  weeks,  contained  remarks  that  irritated, 
—  and  probably  were  intended  to  irritate,  —  those  in 
authority,  by  raising  a  laugh  at  their  expense.  One  of 
the  keenest  articles  of  this  sort  is  the  following :  — 

To  the  Author  of  the  New-England  Courant. 

The  following  Lines  were  occasioned  by  some  unusual  proceedings 
on  a  certain  side  of  the  Atlantic,  wliich  may  perhaps  be  remembered  by 
some  yet  living  in  that  country,  and  elsewhere ;  I  shall  tlierefore  offer 
them  to  you  \\-ithout  any  further  explanation  ;  and  remain, 
Sir, 

Your  Immble  Sen^ant, 

Die.  BUELESQUE. 
A  tract  of  land,  of  vast  extent, 
For  want  of  Christian  Settlement, 

*  What  Franklin  was  imprisoned  for,  does  not  distinctly  appear.  The  Resolve 
of  the  Council,  that  "  no  such  weekly  paper  be  hereafter  printed  or  published  with- 
out the  same  be  first  perused  and  allowed  by  the  Secretary,"  was  passed  on  the 


JAMES    FRANKLIN.  .  6% 

Lay  long  o'ernin  -svith  woods  and  trees, 
And  barbarous  tribes  of  Salvages. 

i 

At  length  a  mighty  Prince  of  Europe, 
Whom  Pro^-idence  it  seems  did  stir  up 
T'  enlarge  his  power  and  ten'itories, 
(If  we  may  credit  ancient  stories) 
Sent  o'er  a  numlier  of  his  subjects, 
Some  who  were  filled  with  rambling  projects, 
And  some  indeed  came  out  of  conscience. 
To  settle  in  this  country  long  since. 

Through  various  forms  of  government 
They  passed,  till  many  years  were  spent ; 
But  always  used  (to  blind  the  people,) 
To  join  the  State  unto  the  steeple ; 
And  those  who  left  the  State  i'  th'  lurch, 
"Would  cry,  The  danger  of  the  Church  ! 
Till  some  o'  the  Clergy  and  the  College, 
Declared  against  the  sin  of  knowledge ; 
And  truly  'tis  a  fatal  omen. 
When  knowledge,  which  belongs  to  no  men 
But  to  the  Clergy  and  the  Judges, 
Gets  in  the  heads  of  common  drudges- 

But  time  at  last  had  brought  to  light 
A  Painter,  who,  in  black  and  white, 
Would  every  roguish  face  discover. 
And  send  them  all  the  country  over ; 
And  every  face,  in  every  town. 
Had  scores  of  knaves  to  call't  his  o"\vn : 
Whether  he  drew  by  art,  or  blundcr'd 
Each  kna^dsh  face  Avould  fit  a  hundred : 
And  what  betrayed  the  silly  asses, 
They  could  not  help  comparing  faces. 
Nay,  once  (where'er  it  was  he  aim'd) 
He  drew  a  face  th'  whole  Senate  claim'd ; 
But  though  they  knew  the  face  was  true, 
They  storm'd  to  see  't  exposed  to  view. 

5th  of  July.  Only  one  paper  was  issued  after  that  date  before  that,  in  which  he 
announces  his  "  enlargement ;  "  so  that,  if  he  were  in  prison  four  \reeks,  as  Mr. 
Thomas  states,  he  must  have  been  placed  there  before  the  passage  of  the  Resolve 
in  Council. 


70  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

Look  ye !  (says  one)  This  saucy  villain  ! 
We  're  all  in  the  compass  of  a  shilling  ! 
I  wonder  how  the  rascal  draws  us, 
And  in  so  small  a  compass  stows  us. 
Here,  Bumbo,  go  and  call  this  Painter ; 
We  '11  make  him  know  how  he  durst  venture 
To  post  us  up  all  o'er  the  coimtry. 
We  ha'  n't  been  served  so  all  this  cent'ry. 

The  Painter  went  when  he  was  sent  for, 
But  knew  not  what  it  was  he  went  for : 
And,  Bumbo  having  oped  the  door, 
He  entered  in  and  scraped  the  floor. 

A  Senator,  as  grave  as  aged, 
Whose  looks  some  punishment  presaged. 
Stood  up,  and  having  scratched  his  head, 
Unto  the  Painter  thus  he  said ;  — 
"  We  have  a  picture  lately  sent  us, 
Wherein  you  truly  represent  us ; 
But  pray,  of  whom  had  you  the  draught 
To  coi)y  from "?  "  The  Painter  laughed ; 
But  having  recomposed  his  visage. 
Quoth  he  —  "  It  ne'er  was  kno^vn  in  this  age, 
For  us  to  tell  whose  draughts  we  use 
When  Avc  your  worships'  heads  compose : 
And  since  you  o\^ti  the  draught  is  true, 
'Tis  needless  to  inquire  who 
It  was  that  drew  it  in  the  first  place : 
The  country  knows  it  is  a  just  face." 

A  Copper-Smith,  (one  of  the  Senate) 
Stood  up  and  cried,  "  But  this  day  se'ennight, 
No  mortal  man  knew  what  we  acted, 
Or  how  our  heads  were  then  compacted : 
How  then  could  any  foreign  hand 
(As  by  the  draught  we  understand) 
Draw  us  so  true  at  such  a  distance  f 
It  seems  to  me  an  inconsistence. 
This  Painter  is  a  saucy  elf; 
I  b'lieve  he  drew  us  first  himself." 

"  It  matters  not  by  whom  you  were  drawn," 
Says  the  Painter,  "  since  your  worships  are  drawn 


JAMES    FRANKLIN.  ft' 

But  if  so  great  a  fault  it  is 
To  paint  your  worship's  sacred  phiz, 
Some  crime  (as  from  your  hearts  it  passes, 
Flies  out  aud  spreads  upon  your  faces) 
You  are  afraid  should  thus  be  shown. 
And  to  your  injured  country  known. 
You  own  yourselves  the  draught  is  true. 
And  yet  can  blame  the  Painter  too. 
So  homely  dames  with  ragged  faces, 
Lay  all  the  fault  upon  tlicir  glasses." 

At  this  the  Senate  grew  incensed, 
And  sullen  looks  around  commenced. 
The  Painter,  for  his  sin  so  vile. 
Was  ordered  to  withdraw  awhile ; 
Meanwhile,  to  work  in  him  repentance. 
They  drew  at  large  the  following  sentence : 

The  Sentence  of  the  Senate. 

r  the  Senate,  in  the  month  of .  WHEREAS, 

Of  late  appeared  among  us  there  has 
A  Painter,  who  in  factious  pieces. 
Does  represent  our  sacred  faces ; 
And  though  his  vile  seditious  practice, 
We  own  but  too,  too  often  fact  is, 
His  crime  has  on  rebellion  bordered  ; 
And  therefore,  by  ourselves  His  ORDERED  : 
That  Bumbo  shall  forthwith  with  him  go. 
And  put  him  close  into  the  Limbo, 
There  to  remain,  for  his  transgression. 
Until  the  ending  of  this 

The  writers  in  the  Courant  frequently  amused  them- 
selves and  the  readers  of  the  paper  with  criticisms  on 
the  elegiac  poetry,  in  which  the  press  seems  to  have 
been  prolific.  "  Hypercriticus,"  in  the  paper  of  Novem- 
ber 12,  says,  "  Of  all  the  different  species  of  poetry  now 
in  use,  I  find  the  Funeral  Elegy  to  be  the  most  univer- 
sally admired  and  used  in  New-England.  There  is 
scarce  a  plough-jogger  or  country  cobler  that  has  read 
our  Psalms,  and  can  make  two  lines  jingle,  who  has  not. 


72  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

once  in  his  life  at  least,  exercised  his  talent  in  this  way. 
Nor  is  there  one  country  house  in  fifty,  which  has  not 
its  walls  garnished  with  half  a  score  of  this  sort  of  Po- 
ems, (if  they  may  be  so  called,)  which  praise  the  dead 
to  the  life,  and  enumerate  all  their  excellencies,  gifts  and 
graces."  He  then  proceeds  to  review  "  Two  late  Ele- 
gies :  "  — 

The  first  is  written  by  the  Eeverend  Mr.  Mncstus  Composuit,  J.  I).  V. 
D.  M  Dorcestriw,  which  is  the  name  he  commonly  signs  his  perform- 
ances of  that  nature  with.  It  is  an  Elegy  (or  rather  Satu-e)  on  Mr. 
Samuel  Topliff,  one  of  the  ruling  elders  of  the  first  church  in  Dorches- 
ter. In  the  former  pai-t  he  smartly  satirizes  the  Church  of  England, 
cuts  down  Episcopacy,  and  entertains  us  with  an  liistoric  account  of 
Bishop  Laud's  Persecution  and  the  settlement  of  New-England  ;  and, 
in  the  latter  he  plentifully  burlesques  the  memory  of  the  deceased.  * 
#    #    # 

In  Seculars  had  foresight  good. 

And  well  his  business  understood. 

In  civil,  militarj'  stations. 

Some  years  he  served  Ms  generation ; 

Then  nine  years  iu  the  Dcaconship, 

Twenty-one  in  the  Eldership. 

Able  for  counsel  and  advice. 

By  long  experience  made  wise. 

Could  form  a  sj)cec'h  extempore 

With  notable  dcxtcritie. 

And  bring  about  his  argument, 

To  ^^^n  his  hearers  good  consent, 

Obtaining  guidance  from  above, 

Knew  when  to  stop  and  when  to  move ; 

Could  act,  reti-act,  sail,  row,  and  steer, 

Sheer  oflf  from  rocks  with  pinidcnt  fear. 
Having  thus  burlesqued  the  Rev.  Lay  Elder,  he  presents  us  with  an 
ample  muster-roll  of  sJiining  heroes,  his  predecessors.     And  here  he 
wisely  makes  choice  of  double  rhymes,  as  the  most  agreeable  by  far  to 
celebrate  their  immortal  memory  — 

Bright  Withiiigton  and  shining  Minot, 
And  radiant  Humfrey,  (names  that  die  not,) 
Rare  Blalie,  and  two  choice  Claps,  who  stood 
Sin's  foes,  but  friends  to  all  that 's  good. 


JAMES    FRANKLIN.  I® 

This  way  of  marshaling  Iieroes  (either  Hving  or  dead)  is  very  com- 
mon with  our  writers  of  elegy.  I  could  give  many  instances,  had  I 
time ;  but  the  two  following  shall  suffice  for  the  present.  The  first  is 
taken  from  an  Elegy  on  Ichabod  Plaisted,  Esq.  and  runs  thus, — 

Ichabod  gone  !  not  all  our  glory  gone  1 

William,  Charles,  Lewis,  Abraham,  Elisha,  Joseph,  John. 

The  other  is  from  an  Elegy  on  the  Rev.  Mr.  Holyoke. 

That  godly  man,  John  Holyoke, 

We  are  bereft  of  thee, 
And  also  Deacon  John  Hitchcock, 

Japhet  Chapen,  all  three. 

TT  tP  -tP  TT  W 

An  eclipse  of  the  sun  happened  on  the  27th  of  No- 
vember. A  few  weeks  previous,  Thomas  Robie  of 
Harvard  College,*  published  a  calculation  concerning  it, 
which  probably  excited  considerable  curiosity.  One  of 
the  wits  of  the  Courant,  in  the  paper  succeeding  the 
eclipse,  wrote  the  following  :  — 

I  wiU  not  be  so  impertinent  as  to  tell  the  world  of  the  great  eclipse  of 
the  sun  on  Tuesday  last.  There  were  too  many  spectators  there  to 
make  it  now  a  piece  of  public  news.  The  hills  and  turrets  were  crowd- 
ed with  gaping  planet-peepers,  among  whom  was  the  author  of  the 
following  lines,  who,  to  catch  the  first  appearance,  was  strained  on  tip- 
toe, almost  to  the  cracking  of  his  ham-strings,  on  the  snowy  top  of  a 
high  building,  where  the  Spirit  of  Versification  seized  him  violently, 
and  would  not  leave  him,  till  he  had  railed  at  the  moon  in  the  following 
manner :  — 

How  now,  proud  Queen !  what  dost  thou,  strutting  here, 
On  Day's  bright  hill  ?     Away  to  your  dark  sphere. 
And  don't  presume  t'  invade  great  Phoebus'  right ; 
To  him  belongs  the  Dai/,  to  you  the  Night. 

*  Thomas  Robie,  fellow  of  Harvard  College,  was  graduated,  A.  D.  1708  ;  instruct- 
ed a  class  from  1714  to  1723  ;  he  then  studied  physic.  He  was  eminent  as  a  mathe- 
matician, and  a  handsome  writer  ;  specimens  of  his  scientific  abilities,  and  his  man. 
ner  of  composing,  may  be  found  scattered  in  the  magazines  and  newspapers  during 
twenty  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  ;  particularly  a  letter  to  the  public,  concern- 
ing a  very  remarkable  eclipse  of  the  sun,  November  27,  1722.  Eliot's  Biog. 
Diet. 

VOL.    I.  7 


74  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

Besides,  much  l>cttcr  does  your  or!)  appear, 
When  farthest  from  his  dazzling  beams  you  are. 
You  with  the  clouds  have  an  agreement  made, 
To  clothe  the  Sun  in  black,  the  Eai'th  vrith  sliade. 
Ha,  ha !  'tis  as  you  spite.    What  have  we  done, 
That  you  should  rob  us  of  three  Itours^  Sun  ? 
If  in  the  midst  of  Summer's  melting  heat, 
Between  the  Sun  and  us  you  'ad  chose  a  seat, 
We  'ad  paid  you  thanks :    But  now  to  interpose, 
Wlicn  we  witli  nortliem  blasts  arc  almost  froze. 
Is  hardly  fair.    For  this,  before  'tis  noon, 
You  shall  smTcndcr  up  th'  invaded  throne. 
Though  of  the  Sun  the  start  you  'ave  slily  stole, 
Ile'll  first  arrive,  and  seize  the  shining  goal. 
Drive  on,  bright  King  of  day  !  pursue  the  race ; 
Huzza !  he  gains  upon  tlie  moon  apace ! 
And  soon  will  leave  her  at  his  shining  heels ; 
Bless  me  !  how  nimbly  roll  his  chariot  wheels ! 
The  rapid  steeds  race  up  th'  ethereal  road, 
Rejoicingly.    Stand  by,  you  saucy  Cloud  ; 
Let 's  see  fair  play.     Come,  Boreas,  with  your  ti-ain, 
Drive  each  intnidcr  off  th'  encumbered  plain. 
'Tis  done  :    And  now  they've  come  in  open  view, 
And  swift  as  nimble  Time  their  coui-se  pursue. 
And  now  th'  ambitious  Moon  is  out  of  sight. 
Victorious  Sol,  come  cheer  us  with  your  light. 

Here  the  rhyming  spirit  left  him  in  the  lurch ;  and  therefore  he  en- 
treats the  reader  to  tmst  him  for  the  rest,  till  the  next  visible  eclipse. 

On  the  1 4th  of  January,  Franklin  published  the  fol- 
lowing article  :  — 

—  In  the  wicked  there's  no  vice. 

Of  which  the  saints  have  not  a  spice ; 

And  yet  that  thing  that's  pious  in 

The  one,  in  t'other  is  a  sin. 

Is't  not  ridiculous  and  nonsense,  • 

A  saint  should  be  a  slave  to  conscience  f    Hud. 
To  the  Author  of  the  New-England  Courant. 
Sir, 
It  is  an  observation  no  less  true  than  soito'w^uI,  which  some  have 
made,  that  there  are  many  persons  who  seem  to  be  more  than  ordinary 


JAMES    FRANKLIN. 


^1 


religious,  but  yet  arc  on  several  accounts  worse  by  fur  than  those  who 
pretend  to  no  religion  at  all. 

This  sort  of  men  would  fain  be  thought  to  have  an-ived  at  an  elevated 
pitch  of  sanctiti/,  and  outstript  their  neighbors  in  the  externals  of  reli- 
gion, while  (without  regard  to  real  virtue  and  goodness)  they  do  put  on 
the  outicard  fo)-m,  as  a  cloak  to  cover  their  wicked  practices  and  designs. 
These,  many  times,  have  the  fixirest  outside  of  any  men.  They  have 
the  blaze  of  a  high  profession,  when  perhaps  they  are  blacker  than  a  coal 
within.  If  we  observe  them  in  their  conversation  with  men  we  shall 
ever  find  them  seemingly  religious,  fidl  of  pious  expressions  and  more  than 
ordinary  prone  to  fall  into  serious  discourse,  without  any  regard  to  the 
time,  place  or  company  they  are  in:  Whereas  (every  thing  being  beau- 
tiful in  its  season)  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  such  discoui-se  is  not 
expedient  at  all  times.  Or,  if  we  view  them  in  their  families,  we  shall 
find  them  nothing  but  devotion  and  religion  there.  So  if  we  observe 
them  on  the  Sabbath,  they  are  wonderful  strict  and  zealous  in  the  sanc- 
tification  of  that;  and,  it  may  be,  are  exact  observers  of  the  evening 
before  and  after  it ;  or,  trace  them  to  the  solemn  assemblies,  and  who  is 
there  so  devout  and  attentive  as  they  ?  Nay,  sometimes  they  discover 
such  distorted  faces,  and  awkward  gestures,  as  render  them  ridiculous. 
But  yet,  these  very  men  are  often  foimd  to  be  the  greatest  cheats  ima- 
ginable ;  they  will  di3sem6Ze  and  lie,  snuffle  and  whiffle:  and,  if  it  be  pos- 
sible, they  will  overreach  and  defraud  all  who  deal  with  them.  Indeed 
all  their  fine  pretences  to  religion  are  only  to  qualify  them  to  act  their 
villany  the  more  secm-ely:  For  when  they  have  once  gained  a  great 
reputation  for  piety,  and  are  cried  up  by  their  neighbors  for  eminent 
saints,  every  one  will  be  ready  to  tnist  to  their  honesty  in  any  affair  what- 
soever 5  though  they  seldom  fail  to  trick  and  bite  them,  as  a  reward  for 
tlieir  ci'edulity  and  good  opinion. 

This  sort  of  saints,  if  they  do  but  perfoiTn  a  few  duties  to  God 
Almighty  in  a  hypocritical  manner,  they  fondly  think  it  will  serve  to 
sanctify  their  villany  and  give  them  a  license  to  cut  their  neighbor's 
throats,  i.  e.  to  cheat  him  as  often  as  they  have  opportunity :  And,  no 
doiibt,  had  they  the  advantage  in  their  hands,  they  would,  like  Judas, 
sell  tlieir  Lord  and  Master  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  if  not  for  half  that 
A-alue. 

It  is  far  worse  dealing  with  such  religiwis  hypocrites  than  with  the 
most  airant  knave  in  the  world ;  and  if  a  man  is  nicked  by  a  notorious 
rogue,  it  does  not  vex  him  half  so  much  as  to  be  cheated  under  pretence 
of  religion. 

Whenever  these  men  arc  striking  a  bargain,  or  making  any  kind  of 
agreement,  with  what  abundance  of  pious  cant  and  pallaver  will  they  do 


76  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

it  ?  and  all  that  they  may  have  the  better  opportunity  to  cheat  their 
neighbor ;  and  if  they  can  obtain  any  advantage  of  him,  they  will  not 
fail  to  improve  it  to  the  uttermost.  Thus,  sometimes  when  tliey  have 
made  a  firm  bargain  for  some  commodity  or  other,  and  the  money  to  be 
paid  on  receiving  it,  if  the  buyer  delay  his  coming  for  it  for  a  day  or 
two,  and  they  have  a  prospect  of  getting  more,  they  will  advance  ten  or 
twenty  shillings  on  the  price,  and  exact  it  of  him.  Or  when  accounts 
(perhaps  of  laborers)  are  carried  in  to  them,  they  will  cut  off  a  consid- 
erable part,  which  is  as  justly  due  as  the  rest.  Or  if  they  have  made  a 
bargain  with  any,  which  proves  verj'  hard,  and  he  apply  himself  to  them 
for  abatement  and  relief,  none  can  be  obtained:  The  law  cannot  help 
him,  and  if  he  put  it  to  their  conscience,  why  they  have  none,  or  one  that 
is  seared  with  hot  iron.  Don't  tell  me,  (they  say,)  a  bargain  is  a  bai-gain ; 
You  should  have  looked  to  that  before;  I  canH  help  it  now.  Indeed  it  were 
impossible  to  enumerate  the  many  tricks  and  artifices,  which  such  hypo- 
critical zealots  improve,  to  defraud  and  overreach  those  they  deal  mth. 
And  though  they  are  very  sly  and  cunning  in  their  wickedness,  yet  they 
are  often  detected :  Oportet  mendacem  esse  memoram.  A  liar  (and  they 
that  will  cheat  will  lie)  had  need  have  a  good  memory,  lest  he  contradict 
and  discover  liimsolf  And  when  they  are  found  out,  they  never  want  fair 
words  and  fine  pretences  to  excuse  themselves.  They  will  often  varnish 
their  roguery  with  a  text  of  scripture,  and  allege,  that  if  they  are  not 
prudent  and  provident  in  looking  to  themselves,  they  shall  be  worse  than 
infdcls. 

But  how  unaccountable  is  it,  that  men  who  profess  the  Christian  reli- 
gion should  do  those  things,  wliich  many  Turks  and  Heathens  would 
blush  to  mention !  Certainly  a  deceived  heart  hath  turned  them  aside,  and 
they  are  flattering  themselves  in  their  oum  eyes,  until  their  iniquity  is  found 
to  be  hateful.  Whatever  high  pretences  such  men  make,  and  boast  of 
their  assurances  of  Heaven,  verily  they  have  neither  part  nor  lot  in  that 
matter ;  for  the  great  St.  Paul  has  told  us,  that  the  UNKIGHTEOUS 
shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  GOD. 

For  my  own  part,  when  I  find  a  man  full  of  religious  cant  and  pel- 
laver,  I  presently  suspect  him  to  be  a  knave.  Religion  is,  indeed,  the 
principal  thing ;  but  too  much  of  it  is  worse  than  none  at  all.  The 
world  abounds  with  knaves  and  villains ;  but,  of  all  knaves,  the  religious 
knave  is  the  worst ;  and  -vnllanies  acted  under  the  cloak  of  religion  are 
the  most  execrable.  Moral  honesty,  though  it  will  not  of  itself  carry  a 
man  to  heaven,  yet  I  am  sure  there  is  no  going  thither  without  it.  And 
however  such  men,  of  whom  I  have  been  speaking,  may  palliate  their 
wickedness,  they  will  find  that  publicans  and  harlots  will  enter  tJte  kingdom 
of  heaven  before  themselves. 


JAMES    FRANKLIN. 


t't 


But,  are  there  such  men  as  these  in  THEE,  O  New-England! 
Heaven  forbid  there  should  be  any :  But,  alas !  it  is  to  be  feared  the 
number  is  not  small.  A  few  such  men  have  given  cause  to  strangers 
(who  have  been  bit  by  them)  to  complain  of  us  greatly.  Give  me  an 
honest  man  (say  some)  for  all  a  religious  man  !  A  distinction  which,  I 
confess,  I  never  heard  before.  The  whole  country  suffers  for  the  villan- 
ies  of  a  few  such  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing,  and  we  are  all  rei:)resented 
as  a  pack  of  knaves  and  hypocrites  for  their  sake. 

Moreover,  religion  itself  suffers  exti-emely  by  the  dishonest  practices 
of  those  who  profess  it.  Their  cheating  tricks  have  a  tendency  to  harden 
such  as  are  disaffected  to  religion,  in  their  infidelity,  and  strengthen 
their  prejudices  against  it.  Why,  say  they,  such  and  such  religious  men 
•will  lie,  cheat  and  defraud,  for  all  their  high  profession ;  and  so  they 
presently  conclude,  that  religion  itself  is  nothing  but  a  cunningli/  devised 
fable,  a  trick  of  state  invented  to  keep  men  in  awe. 

This  is  a  Lamentation,  and  shall  be  for  a  Lamentation. 

A  second  communication  in  the  same  paper  speaks  of 
the  dangers  to  be  apprehended  from  the  contentions  and 
divisions,  that  exist  among  the  people,  and  accuses  them 
of  having  "  sinned  away  one  of  the  most  extensive 
blessings  "  they  were  ever  "  possessed  of"  —  alluding  to 
the  sudden  departure  of  Governor  Shute,  who,  on  the 
first  day  of  that  month,  had  sailed  for  England.  A 
third  communication  refers  also  to  the  "  extraordinary 
manner  of  Governor  Shute's  absenting  himself  from  the 
government,"  and  says  it  is  naturally  concluded,  that  any 
Governor  departing  from  a  government  with  so  much 
privacy  and  displeasure,  can't  reasonahly  he  supposed  to 
promote  the  interest  of  that  government,  when  he  arrives 
at  the  British  Court.  The  writer  proposes  that  "  two 
persons,  born  among  us,  of  known  abilities  and  address, 
be,  as  soon  as  possible,  sent  to  the  Court  of  Great- 
Britain,  there  to  vindicate  the  proceedings  of  the  Hon- 
orable House  of  Representatives,  from  time  to  time, 
since  the  misunderstandings  that  have  arisen  between  that 
honorable  House  and  Governor  Shute."  He  concludes 
7* 


78  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

with  the  following  "  Q^iiere.  Whether  (pursuant  to  the 
charter)  the  ministers  of  this  province  ought  now  to  pray 
for  Samuel  Shute,  Esq.  as  our  immediate  Governor,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  pray  for  the  Lieutenant-Governor  as 
commander-in-chief?  Or,  Whether  their  praying  for  his 
success  in  his  voyage,  if  he  designs  to  hurt  the  province, 
(as  some  suppose)  be  not  in  effect  to  pray  for  our 
destruction  ? " 

The  day  on  which  these  articles  appeared,  the  follow- 
ing proceedings  were  had  in  the  General  Court :  — 

In  Council,  Jan.  14, 1722. 

"Whereas  tlie  paper,  called  the  New-England  Courant,  of  this  day's 
date,  contains  many  passages,  in  which  the  Holy  Scriptures  are  per- 
verted, and  the  Civil  Government,  Ministers,  and  People  of  this  Prov- 
ince highly  reflected  on, 

Ordered,  That  William  Tailer,  Samuel  Sewell,  and  Penn  Townsend, 
Esqrs.  with  such  as  the  Ilonorahle  House  of  Representatives  shall  join, 
be  a  committee  to  consider  and  report  what  is  proper  for  this  Court  to 
do  thereon. 

This  order  was  sent  to  the  House  of  Representatives 

and  was  concurred  in.     The  following  Report  was  made 

by  the  Committee,  and  adopted  by  both  branches  of  the 

government :  — 

The  Committee  appointed  to  consider  of  the  paper  called,  The 
New-England  Courant,  published  Monday  the  fourteenth  current,  are 
humbly  of  opinion  that  the  tendency  of  the  said  paper  is  to  mock  religion, 
and  bring  it  into  contempt,  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  are  therein  pro- 
fanely abused,  that  the  revered  and  fiiithful  ministers  of  the  gospel  are 
injuriously  reflected  on,  His  Majesty's  Government  aff"ronted,  and  the 
peace  and  good  order  of  His  Majesty's  subjects  of  this  Province  dis- 
turbed, by  the  said  Courant ;  and  for  precaution  of  the  like  offence  for 
the  future,  the  Committee  humbly  projwse,  That  James  Franklin,  the 
printer  and  publisher  thereof,  be  strictly  forbidden  by  this  Court  to  print 
or  publish  the  New-England  Courant,  or  any  other  pamphlet  or  paper 
of  the  like  nature,  except  it  be  first  supervised  by  tlie  Secretary  of 
this  Province;  and  the  Justices  of  His  Majesty's  Sessions  of  the 
Peace  for  the  County  of  Suffolk,  at   their  next  adjournment,  be  di- 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN.  79 

rected  to  take  sufficient  bonds  of  the  said  Franklin,  for  Twelve  Months 
time. 

Franklin's  next  paper  after  the  publication  of  this 
order  contained  an  article,  purporting  to  be  the  advice  of 
a  correspondent,  and  pointing  out  a  line  of  conduct  for 
him,  as  the  publisher  of  a  paper,  that  should  secure  him 
thereafter  against  any  annoyances  from  the  government. 
In  reality,  the  piece  was  a  satire  upon  the  government, 
and  all  who  were  opposed  to  the  Courant,  —  quite  as 
severe  as  what  he  had  before  published.  The  Courant 
of  February  J 1  was  issued  in  the  name  of  Benjamin 
Franklin,*  who  thus  introduces  himself  to  the  public  :  — 

The  late  publisher  of  this  paper,  finding  so  many  inconveniences  would 
arise  by  his  carrying  the  manuscripts  and  public  news  to  be  supervised 
by  the  Secretary,  as  to  render  his  carrying  it  on  unprofitable,  has 
entu-ely  dropt  the  undertaking.     The  present  publisher  having  re- 
ceived the  following  piece,  desires  the  readers  to  accept  of  it  as  a 
preface  to  what  they  may  hereafter  meet  with  in  this  paper. 
Non  ego  mordaci  distrinxi  Carmine  quenquam, 
Nulla  venenato  Litera  mista  jocoest. 
Long  has  the  Press  groaned  in  bringing  forth  an  hateful  brood  of 
party  pamphlets,  malicious  scribbles,  and  billingsgate  ribaldry.     The 
rancor  and  bitterness  it  has  unhajDpily  infused  into  men's  minds,  and  to 
what  a  degree  it  has  soured  and  leavened  the  tempers  of  persons  formerly 
esteemed  some  of  the  most  sweet  and  affable,  is  too  well  known  here  to 
need  any  further  proof  or  representation  of  the  matter. 

No  generous  and  impartial  person,  then,  can  blame  the  present  under- 
taking, which  is  designed  purely  for  the  diversion  and  merriment  of  the 
reader.     Pieces  of  pleasancy  and  mirth  have  a  secret  charm  in  them  to 

*  Franklin  was  not  inclined  to  subject  his  paper  to  licensers  of  tiie  press,  and  he 
was  unwilling  to  stop  the  publication  of  it ;  but  he  dared  not  proceed  in  defiance 
of  the  order  of  the  Legislature.  The  Club  wished  for  the  continuance  of  the 
paper;  and  a  consultation  on  the  subject  was  holder)  in  Franklin's  printing-house, 
the  result  of  which  was,  that,  to  evade  the  order  of  the  Legislature,  the  New- 
England  Courant  should,  in  future,  be  published  by  Benjamin  Franklin,  then  an 
apprentice  to  James.  *  *  *  The  Courant  was  published  in  the  name  of  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,  for  more  than  three  years;  and,  probably  until  its  publication 
ceased  ;  but  it  appears,  from  Ur.  Franklin's  Life,  that  he  did  not  remain  for  a  long 
time  with  his  brother  after  the  Courant  began  to  be  printed  in  his  name. 

Tliomas's  History  of  Printing,  vol.  1.  p.  310. 


80  NEW-ENGLAND     COURANT. 

allay  the  heats  and  tumors  of  oiir  sph-its,  and  to  make  a  man  forget  his 
restless  resentments.  They  have  a  strange  power  in  them  to  hush  dis- 
orders of  the  soul,  and  reduce  us  to  a  serene  and  placid  state  of  mind. 

The  main  design  of  this  weekly  paper  will  be  to  entertain  the  to-rni 
with  the  most  comical  and  diverting  incidents  of  human  life,  which,  in 
so  large  a  place  as  Boston,  will  not  fail  of  a  universal  exemplitication : 
Nor  shall  we  be  wanting  to  till  up  these  papers  with  a  grateful  inter- 
spcrsion  of  more  serious  morals,  which  may  be  di-awn  from  the  most 
ludicrous  and  odd  parts  of  life. 

As  for  the  author,  that  is  the  next  question.  But  though  we  profess 
ourselves  ready  to  oblige  the  ingenious  and  courteous  reader  with  most 
sorts  of  intelligence,  yet  here  we  beg  a  reserve.  Nor  will  it  be  of  any 
advantage  cither  to  them  or  to  the  \mters,  that  their  names  should  be 
published ;  and  therefore  in  this  matter  we  desire  the  favor  of  you  to 
suffer  us  to  hold  our  tongues :  which  though  at  this  time  of  day  it  may 
sound  like  a  very  uncommon  request,  yet  it  proceeds  from  the  very 
hearts  of  your  humble  servants. 

By  this  time  the  reader  perceives  that  more  than  one  arc  engaged  in 
the  present  undertaking.  Yet  there  is  one  person,  an  inhabitant  of  tliis 
town  of  Boston,  whom  we  honor  as  a  doctor  in  the  chair,  or  a  pcrpctiial 
dictator. 

The  society  had  designed  to  present  the  public  witli  his  effigies,  but 
that  the  Limner,  to  whom  he  was  presented  for  a  draught  of  his  coun- 
tenance, descried  (and  this  he  is  ready  to  oifer  upon  oath)  nineteen  fea- 
tures in  his  face,  more  than  he  ever  beheld  in  any  human  visage  before ; 
wliich  so  raised  the  price  of  his  picture,  that  our  master  himself  forbid 
the  extravagance  of  coming  uj)  to  it.  And  then,  besides,  the  Limner 
objected  a  schism  in  his  face,  which  split  it  from  his  forehead  in  a  straight 
line  down  to  his  chin,  in  such  sort,  that  Mr.  Painter  protests  it  is  a 
double  face,  and  he'll  have  four  pounds  for  the  portraitm'C.  However, 
though  his  double  face  has  spoilt  us  of  a  pretty  picture,  yet  we  all  re- 
joiced to  see  Old  James  in  our  company.  There  is  no  man  in  Boston 
l)etter  qualified  than  Old  Janus  for  a  Courantcer,  or,  if  you  please,  an 
Observator,  being  a  man  of  such  remarkable  op^^'cs  as  to  look  two  ways  at 
once. 

As  for  his  morals,  he  is  a  cheerly  Christian,  as  the  countiy  phrase  ex- 
presses it.  A  man  of  good  temper,  courteous  deportment,  sound  judge- 
ment, a  mortal  hater  of  nonsense,  foppery,  fomiality,  and  endless  cere- 
mony. As  for  his  Club,  they  aim  at  no  greater  happiness  or  honor,  than 
the  public  be  made  to  know,  that  it  is  the  utmost  of  their  ambition  to 
attend  upon  and  do  all  imaginable  good  offices  to  good  Old  Janus  the 
Couranteer,  who  is  and  always  will  be  the  reader's  humble  servant. 

P.  S.     Gentle  Reader,  we  design  never  to  let  a  paper  pass  without  a 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN.  ©1 

Latin  motto  if  we  can  possibly  pick  one  up,  which  caiTies  a  charm  in  it 
to  the  vulgar,  and  the  learned  admire  the  pleasure  of  construing.  We 
should  have  obliged  the  world  with  a  Greek  scrap  or  two,  but  the  printer 
has  no  types,  and  therefore  we  entreat  the  candid  reader  not  to  impute 
the  defect  to  our  ignorance,  for  om-  doctor  can  say  all  the  Greek  letters 
by  heart. 

These  papers  were  continued,  with  hardly  any  inter- 
ruption, for  two  years,  or  more.  Many  of  them  are 
exceedingly  well  written,  exposing  the  follies  of  the  day 
and  descanting  with  the  utmost  freedom  on  politics,  reli- 
gion, and  literature.  Some  of  the  criticisms  on  what 
was  then  popular  poetry  abound  in  wit  and  sarcasm. 
To  oblige  the  readers  of  the  Courant,  Old  Janus,  in  that 
paper  of  August  26,  1723,  copied  the  following  from 
the  News-Letter  of  the  preceding  week  :  —  * 

AD   REGEM. 

To  fix  the  Laws  and  Limits  of  these  Colonies, 

My  humble  Muse  to  Royal  GEORGE  now  flies. 

Live,  Mighty  King  !  all  Protestants  do  pray  ; 

This  New  World,  too,  under  your  feet  I  lay  ; 

May  Peace  &  Plenty,  in  your  Kingdoms  !  Triumph  Roimd ; 

To  increase  your  Grandeur  !  yet  more  worlds  be  found  ; 

And  to  your  Glories  !  Let  there  be  no  bound. 

At  Boston  in  America,  the  first  of  August :  Spoken  Extempore  by 
John  Winthrop,  Esq  ;  before  his  Honour  the  Lieut  Govemour  and  in  the 
presence  of  divers  Gentlemen  and  Ladies,  and  several  of  the  Clergy ; 
being  the  happy  Accession  of  his  Sacred  Royal  Majesty  King  GEORGE 
to  the  Imperial  Throne  of  Great  Britain. 

On  the  publication  of  this  one  of  Janus's  correspond- 
ents wrote  :  — 

To  the  worshipful  John   Winthrop  Esq;  on  his  inimitable  Genius  to 
Extempore  Poetry. 
Hail  Bard  Seraphic !  tell  what  generous  fire 
So  suddenly  thy  genius  did  inspire 
Ex  tempore  Great  George  to  compliment, 

•  The  typography  and  punctuation  are  here  preserved. 


82  NEW-ENGLAND     COURANT. 

And  with  him  undiscovered  worlds  present, 
"Worlds  never  known  before,  worlds  old  and  new, 
Reserved  till  now  to  l)e  found  out  by  you. 
The  people's  customs  and  (the  clerpry's  grace,) 
The  fashion  of  their  bodies  and  their  face, 
Describe  to  us ;  and  also  let  us  know 
If  they  are  made  like  us  from  top  to  toe. 
And  in  their  faces'  centime  if  their  noses  grow. 
And  if  as  hi;;  as  yOui-s  or  if  they're  less. 
Ingeniously  for  once  the  truth  confess, 
If  there's  a  s>nnmetry  in  all  their  parts, 
And  if  they're  famous  for  poetic  arts  ; 
If  not.  Great  Sir,  I'd  have  you  there  retire 
And  with  you  take  each  member  of  your  quire, 
There  you  may  live  in  grandeur,  pomp  and  state, 
And  doubtless  you'll  be  made  a  Poet  Laurcat.    hie  Cccinit 
Philo  Poesis  Extemporarii. 

In  1725,  the  contributions  of  the  correspondents  of 
Old  Janus  were  less  frequent,  and  their  places  in  the 
Courant  were  supplied  with  selections  from  London 
papers  and  other  popular  publications.  The  Life  of 
Jonathan  JJ'ilcl,  the  famous  thief-taker,  who  was  execut- 
ed in  London  some  time  in  that  year,  was  published  in 
the  Courant,  —  a  portion  in  each  number,  from  the  first 
of  October  to  the  end  of  the  year. 

The  following  communication  appears,  April  30, 
1726  ;  and,  is  the  last  original  article  to  be  found  in  the 
volume  from  which  these  extracts  have  been  taken  :  — 

To  the   Worshipful  blaster  JANUS. 

Cambridge,  April  25,  172G. 
Sir, 

The  poetic  pcrfonnances  which  some  times  bloom  in  your  paper, 
not  only  afford  a  rich  entertainment  to  those  of  a  fine  and  delicate  im- 
agination, but  may,  by  their  heat  and  influence,  call  forth  from  the  womb 
of  some  great  and  hidden  genius  some  pieces  of  inestimable  value,  of 
which  the  public  might  otherwise  have  been  deprived. 

What  advantage  such  pieces  may  have  been  to  the  author  of  the  fol- 
lowing translation,  is  beyond  my  power  at  present  to  determine.    But 


BENJAM[N    FRANKLIN.  S3 

the  commendation  wliicli  the  pubUc  hath  paid  to  the  last  piece  of  poetry 
inserted  in  the  Courant  has  encouraged  me  to  publish  this  beautiful 
Ode ;  with  some  assui-ance,  that  if  the  reception  is  but  correspondent 
to  the  merit  of  the  performance,  it  will  obtain  a  considerable  applause ; 
at  least  with  those  who  have  any  acquaintance  with  the  chamis  of  the 
original.  Yours,  &c. 

Horace,  Ode  the  XVI.  Lib  II.     To  Grosphus. 
Through  all  mankind  impatient  ardors  reign, 
To  \\\Q  a  life  of  ease  secure  from  pain  ; 
The  sailor,  on  the  jEgean  billows  tost, 
By  gloomy  clouds  the  Moon's  fair  lustre  lost, 
And  stars  no  more  seen  with  their  radiant  fires 
To  guide  th'  uncertain  ship,  soft  rest  desires. 
In  feats  of  war,  the  furious  Thracians  skilled. 
And  Medes,  with  whizzing  deaths  to  win  the  field, 
With  thirsty  soul,  0  Grosphus !  Ease  explore, 
More  worth  than  shining  beds  of  yellow  ore, 
Or  pitrple  gai-ments  stained  "vidth  Tyrian  dies 
Which  gems  enhghten,  as  the  stars  the  skies. 
Not  sums  immense,  which  greedy  avarice  heaps. 
Nor  honor's  greedy  train,  which  o'er  the  vulgar  sweeps, 
Can  soothe  the  cares  which  haunt  a  monarch's  breast. 
And  flying  round  the  court  his  thoughts  molest. 
Happy  the  man,  the  breathings  of  whose  mind 
Are  in  the  cu-cle  of  his  jjower  confined ; 
Whose  sleep  no  fears  distm'b,  his  life  no  care, 
But  at  his  table  dines  on  homely  fare ; 
And  from  the  sordid  lust  of  riches  free, 
From  his  clear  thought  all  brooding  sorrows  flee. 
Condemn'd  to  breathe  on  Earth  a  narrow  space 
We  many  things  and  mighty  projects  chase : 
To  foreign  realms,  self-banished  from  our  ovm, 
With  anxious  speed  from  pressing  griefs  we  run : 
In  vain  our  haste,  while  in  the  conscious  soul 
The  angry  gods  their  killing  horrors  roll. 
A  guilty  gloom  hangs  hovering  o'er  the  ships. 
And  in  the  minds  of  running  squadrons  leaps. 
Pursuing  cares  bound  swifter  than  the  deer. 
Chased  by  the  bloody  hounds  and  trembling  fear. 
On  the  fleet  pinions  of  the  eastern  wind. 
Which  veil  the  sun,  and  leave  the  hours  behind: 
While  swift  as  light  the  clouds  impetuous  fly, 


84  NEW-ENGLANU     COURANT. 

And  spread  with  sack-cloth  all  the  azure  sky. 
With  eajrer  joy  let's  grasp  the  present  hour, 
And  leave  the  future,  placed  beyond  our  power. 
Let  smiles  with  gentle  breezes  soothe  the  tide 
Of  swelling  grief,  and  restless  fears  subside, 
Since  various  pleasures  join  to  make  us  blest, 
Denied  from  some,  well  live  upon  the  rest. 
Achilles,  though  with  fame  immortal  crowned, 
Dcatli's  fatal  shaft  stretched  prostrate  on  tlic  ground : 
And  Tithon,  who  a  longer  age  obtains, 
Yet  loathes  a  life  curst  with  perjjetual  pains. 
And,  mad  with  fun.-,  gnaws  his  endless  chains. 
Perhaps  on  me  tlie  smiling  hours  bestow 
The  pleasures  which  my  friend  will  never  know. 
AVliat  though  a  hundred  flocks  your  fields  adorn, 
And  bowing  heads  salute  the  rising  mom  ; 
Though  tiying  steeds  before  your  chariot  spring. 
And  in  your  cars  the  shrieking  axils  ring : 
Though  robes  twice  in  the  Tyrian  tincture  laid, 
Around  you  their  majestic  honors  spread : 
On  me  the  Fates  with  partial  Iwunty  shine. 
And  spin  the  thread  of  life  more  soft  and  fine. 
Small  is  my  house,  surrounded  with  the  shades 
Of  gloomy  forests  and  delightful  glades, 
"Where  all  the  Nine  my  ravislied  brcaist  inspire 
And  light  with  flames  of  their  poetic  fire. 
Here  raised  above  the  world,  my  lofty  eyes 
View  the  low  Vulgar,  and  their  gaze  despise. 

The  following  scraps  of  news  and  advertisements, 
will  be  suflicient  to  give  an  idea  of  the  style  in  which 
such  matters  were  clad,  a  century  and  a  quarter  ago, 
and  with  them  our  extracts  from  the  Courant  will 
close :  — 

Boston,  Feb.  1.  They  ^vrite  from  Plymouth,  that  an  extraordinary 
event  has  lately  happened  in  that  ncighliorhood,  in  which,  some  say, 
the  Devil  and  the  man  of  the  house  are  verj'  much  to  blame.  The  man, 
it  seems,  would  now  and  then  in  a  frolic  call  upon  the  Devil  to  come 
down  the  chimney ;  and  some  little  time  after  the  last  invitation,  the 
good  wife's  pudding  turned  black  in  the  boiling,  which  she  attributed  to 
the  Devil's  descending  the  chimney,  and  getting  into  tlie  pot,  upon  her 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN.  8S 

husband's  repeated  wishes  for  him.  Great  numbers  of  people  have  been 
to  view  the  pudding,  and  to  inquire  into  the  circumstances ;  and  most 
of  them  agree  that  a  sudden  change  must  be  produced  by  a  ijreternatu- 
ral  power.  Bitt  some  good  Housewives  of  a  cliymical  turn  assign  a 
natural  cause  for  it.  However,  'tis  thought,  it  will  have  tliis  good  effect 
upon  the  man  that  he  will  no  more  be  so  free  with  the  Devil  in  his 
cups,  lest  his  Satanic  Majesty  should  again  unluckily  tumble  into  the 
pot. 

Newbury,  June  14.  —  A  serpent  was  killed  here  this  week,  about  two 
foot  long,  with  two  perfect  heads,  one  at  each  end ;  in  each  head  were 
two  eyes  and  a  mouth,  and  in  each  mouth  a  forked  sting,  both  which  he 
thrust  out  at  the  same  time  with  equal  fierceness.  The  manner  of  his 
defence  was,  raising  up  his  heads  about  two  inches  from  the  ground ; 
he  always  kept  one  directed  towards  his  adversary,  thnisting  out  both 
his  stings  at  once.  The  lad  that  killed  him  affirmed  that  when  he  was 
running,  if  his  motion  was  obstructed  one  way,  he  would  run  directly 
the  contrary  way  and  never  turn  his  body.  One  head  was  something 
bigger  than  the  other,  and  from  the  biggest  to  the  other  his  body  was 
somewhat  taper-wise,  but  in  a  far  less  proj^ortion  than  in  common 
snakes.  I  the  subscriber  with  several  others  saw  the  said  serpent  just 
after  he  was  killed,  and  can  testify  to  all  above-written,  except  his  mo- 
tions described  by  the  lad,  who  only  saw  him  alive. 

Nath.  Coffin. 

Boston,  Aug.  10.  "We  are  advised  from  Eastham,  that  Mr.  Israel  Cole 
of  that  place,  lately  died  worth  10000^.  2000  of  which  he  left  to  four 
grandchildren,  and  8000  to  his  only  son  of  the  same  name,  who  in  re- 
turn for  his  father's  extraordinary  frugality  in  his  life,  and  good  will  at 
his  death,  ordered  the  most  magnificent  interment  for  him  that  has  been 
known  in  New-England ;  which  was  perfonned  in  the  following  manner. 
The  corpse  being  inclosed  in  a  beautiful  coffin,  was  decently  laid  in  a 
sled,  and  drawn  to  the  grave  by  a  yoke  of  oxen ;  who  notwithstanding 
they  supplied  the  place  of  porters  and  pall-bearers,  and  had  neither 
gloves,  scarves  nor  rings  for  their  trouble,  yet  'tis  not  doubted  but  this 
neglect  is  entirely  owing  to  the  traders  in  these  parts,  who  deal  in  such 
funeral  ornaments  as  are  fit  only  for  human  bodies.  The  Heir  attended 
the  funeral  without  any  thing  of  mourning  apparel,  which  must  be 
attributed  to  a  generous  scorn  of  the  deceitful  pomp  and  glory  of  hj'po- 
critical  mourners,  and  not  to  any  narrowness  of  spirit  in  him,  whose 
spacious  soul  extends  to  the  utmost  bounds  of  his  land,  and  to  the  very 
bottom  of  his  chests. 

8 


86  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

THE    EPITAPH. 

Here  lies  old  Cole  ;  l>ut  how  or  why 
He  lived,  or  how  he  came  to  die, 
His  son  and  heir  mar  but  declare  it, 
"NMio's  dou>)ly  ])lessed  with  father's  spirit ; 
And  who,  whene'er  he  comes  to  breathe  all 
His  useless  breath  away,  and  leave  all 
To  such  another  son  and  heir, 
He  may  be  thrown  —  but  God  knows  where : 
Perhaps  in  some  black  chj-mist's  dark  hole, 
AVlicrc  out  of  wood  he  extracts  charcoal. 
Boston,  Sept.  16.    Last  week  a  Council  of  Churches  was  held  at  the 
South  Part  of  Brantrey,  to  rejnilate  the  disorders  occasioned  by  Regu- 
lar Singing  in  that  place,  Mr.  Nile,  the  minister  ha^•ing  suspended  seven 
or  eight  of  the  Church  for  persisting  in  their  Singing  l)y  Rule,  contrary 
(as  he  apprehended)  to  the  result  of  a  former  Council;  but  by  this 
Council  the  suspended  Brethren  are  restored  to  Communion,  their  Sus- 
pension declared  unjust,  and  the  Congregation  ordered  to  sing  by  Rote 
and  by  Rule  alternately,  for  the  Satisfaction  of  both  parties. 

Boston,  Dccemh.  9.  We  have  advice  from  tlie  South  Part  of  Bran- 
trey, that  on  Sunday  the  First  Instant,  Mr.  Nilcs  the  Alinistcr  of  that 
Place,  pcifomicd  the  Duties  of  tlie  Day  nt  liis  Dwelling  House,  among 
tliose  of  his  Congregation  who  arc  opposers  of  Regular  Singing.  The 
Regular  Singers  met  together  at  the  Meeting  House,  and  sent  for  Mr. 
Kiles,  who  refused  to  come  unless  they  would  first  promise  not  to  sing 
Regularly ;  whereupon  they  concluded  to  edify  themselves  by  the 
Assistance  of  one  of  the  Deacons,  who  at  tlieir  Desire  prayed  with 
them,  read  a  Sermon,  &c. 

Boston,  Sept.  25.  They  write  from  Marblehead,  that  on  Monday  the 
15th  inst.  a  fanner  about  two  miles  from  that  tovm,  hearing  a  noise 
among  his  ST\'inc,  i-un  out  and  discovered  a  Bear  making  oft'  the  ground 
on  his  hind  legs,  having  the  good  man's  Sow  hugged  up  in  his  fore 
paws.  They  soon  dispatched  the  Bear,  in  hopes  of  relieving  the  Sow ; 
but  it  proved  too  late,  for  the  Bear  had  broke  her  back,  and  squeezed 
her  to  death.  The  sow  is  supposed  to  be  about  200  weight.  The  Bear 
weighed  50  pounds  a  quarter  when  dressed. 

'Tis  thought  that  not  less  than  20  Bears  have  been  killed  in  about  a 
week's  time  within  two  miles  of  Boston.  Two  have  been  killed  below 
the  Castle,  as  they  were  swimming  from  one  island  to  another,  and  one 
attempted  to  board  a  boat  out  in  the  bay,  but  the  men  defended  them- 
selves so  well  with  the  boat-hook  and  oars,  that  they  put  out  her  eyes, 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN.  &% 

and  then  killed  her.  On  Tuesday  last,  two  were  killed  at  Dorchester, 
one  of  which  weighed  60  pounds  a  quarter.  We  hear  from  Providence 
that  the  bears  appear  very  thick  in  those  parts. 

Boston,  Oct.  23.  On  Tuesday  last  there  was  a  general  Training  at 
Charlestown,  where  6  companies  of  Foot  and  2  Troop  of  Horse  were 
mustered  and  exercised,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  a  great  number  of 
spectators,  who  discovered  a  far  greater  degree  of  the  Military  spirit 
than  in  our  Boston  Militia,  particularly  by  one  company,  commonly 
called  Charlestown  AVood  Men,  who  appcai-ed  in  their  regimental 
apparel ;  that  is  to  say,  their  hats  were  all  bound  Nvith  white  paper,  and 
some  of  them  had  blue  stockings  worked  with  white. 

Oct.  30.  A  lad  of  about  17  years  of  age,  having  lately  enticed  3 
children,  all  about  3  or  4  years  of  age,  into  by  places  of  the  town,  bar- 
barously whipt  them,  and  ('tis  thought)  otherways  abominably  abused 
them,  was  this  week  accidentally  discovered  by  one  of  the  children  as 
he  passed  along  the  street,  and  committed  to  Bridewell,  where  he  con- 
fest  he  whipt  them,  but  said  he  could  not  tell  for  what. 

Feb.  26,  1726.  The  Lad  (mentioned  in  one  of  our  former  papers) 
who  barliarously  whipped  several  children,  being  found  guilty  at  our 
Superior  Court,  this  week  received  sentence  to  be  whipped  39  lashes  at 
the  Cart's  Tail,  12  at  the  gallows,  13  at  the  head  of  Summer-street,  and 
13  below  the  Town- House,  and  to  be  committed  to  Bridewell  for  six 
months. 

Boston,  March  26.  We  are  at  present  amused  with  a  very  odd  story 
from  Martha's  Vineyard,  which,  however,  is  affirmed  for  a  truth  1iy 
some  persons  lately  come  from  thence,  viz.  That  at  a  certain  house  in 
Edgar  Town,  a  plain  Indian  pudding  being  put  into  the  pot  and  boiled 
the  usual  time,  it  came  out  of  a  blood-red  color,  to  the  great  surprize  of 
the  whole  family.  The  cause  of  this  great  altei'ation  in  the  pudding  is 
not  yet  known,  though  it  has  been  matter  of  great  speculation  in  the 
neighborhood. 
Advertisement. 

If  there  be  any  person  that  has  imposed  liis  surreptitious  Digits  or 
Bubonic  Apthalins,  on  the  Globular  Rotundity  of  an  Hatt,  tinctured 
with  Nigridity,  let  him  (;onvey  his  IntcUigencies  to  the  Preconic  Poten- 
tate, where  the  sonorous  Jar  of  his  Tintinnabular  Instrument,  by  a 
ti-emulous  Perversion  of  the  Minute  iEreal  Particles,  affecting  the 
Am-icular  Organs,  make  an  Impression  on  the  Cerebral  Part  of  his 
Microcosm ;  and  he  shall  receive  a  Premeial  Donation  adapted  to  the 
Magnitude  of  the  Benefit,  whether  the  Hat  has  titillated  his  Manual 
nerves,  or  only  struck  the  Capilliments  of  his  Optic  Nerve. 


88  NEW-ENGLAND    COURANT. 

Just  published,  and  Sold  hi/  the  Printer  hereof. 
*l*  Hoop-Petticoats  Arraigned  and  Condemned,  by  the  Light  of 
Kature,  and  Law  of  God.    Price  3d, 

Advertisement.  There  has  been  preparing,  and  is  now  published,  and 
to  be  sold  by  Samuel  Gerrish,  bookseller  in  Comhill,  Boston,  A  collec- 
tion of  Psalm  Tuxes  in  three  Parts,  Treble,  Mcdias  and  Bass,  28 
consisting  of  74  lines,  or  common  Tunes,  and  ten  more  consisting  of 
8  lines,  or  double  Tunes.  Printed  from  a  Copper-Plate,  most  curiously 
and  con-ectly  engraved,  and  in  a  page  fit  to  be  bound  up  with  the  com- 
mon Psalm  Books.  Persons  may  have  Psalm  Books  \\-ith  these  Tunes 
bound,  for  5s.  6d.  a  piece,  or  the  Tunes  single  for  3s.  a  Set.  And  by 
the  Doz.  with  usual  and  proper  Abatements,  and  cheaper  still  by  the  100, 

It  is  Stated  by  Mr.  Thomas  that  the  publication  of  the 
Courant  ceased  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1727. 
James  Frankhn,  at  a  subsequent  period,  remov^ed  to 
Newport,  R.  I.  and  established  a  paper  there,  —  the 
first  in  that  colony. 

It  is  presumed  that  none  of  the  names  of  the  writers 
for  the  Courant  are  known  at  the  present  day,  except 
that  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  and  his  whole  history  is  as 
familiar  to  most  readers  as  household  words.  His  auto- 
biography is  one  of  the  most  delightful  narratives  that 
the  press  has  ever  sent  forth  to  the  world.  It  has 
been  re-written  for  various  publications,  and  published, 
times  almost  innumerable,  with  additions,  embellishments, 
and  commentaries.  His  name  has  been  rendered  im- 
mortal by  his  private  virtues,  and  his  public  services, 
and  sheds  a  splendor  around  the  typographic  art,  of 
which  every  printer  makes  a  boast,  while  he  feels  that 
he  is  in  some  degree  a  partaker  in  the  honor  conferred 
on  his  profession  by  Franklin. 


^ 


THE  NEW -ENGLAND  WEEKLY  JOURNAL. 


The  first  number  of  this  paper  was  published  on  Mon- 
day, March  20,  1727.  The  imprint  was  —  "  BOSTON  : 
Printed  by  S.  KNEELAND,  at  the  Printing-House  in 
Queen-Street,  where  Advertisements  are  taken  in."  It 
was  a  half  sheet  of  fools-cap,  two  pages,  with  two  col- 
umns in  a  page,  printed  chiefly  in  Brevier  type.  The 
opening  address  of  the  publisher  was  set  in  Pica  Italic, 
beginning  with  a  four-line  letter,  and  read  thus  :  — 

It  would  be  needless  to  mention  here  the  particular  Reasons  for  Pub- 
lishing this  Paper;  and  will  be  sufficient  to  say,  That  the  Design  of  it  is, 
with  Fidelity  and  Method  to  Entertain  the  Publick  every  Monday  with 
a  Collection  of  the  most  Eemarkable  OccuiTences  of  Europe^  with  a 
particular  Regard  from  time  to  time  to  the  present  Circumstances  of  the 
Publick.  Affairs,  whether  of  Church  or  State.  And  to  render  this 
Paper  more  Acceptable  to  its  Readers,  immediate  care  will  be  taken 
(and  a  considerable  pi'ogress  is  herein  already  made)  to  settle  a  Coitc- 
spondence  with  the  most  knowing  and  ingenious  Gentlemen  in  the  several 
noted  Towns  in  this  and  the  Neighbour-Provinces,  who  may  take  par- 
ticular Care  seasonably  to  Collect  and  send  what  may  be  renuirkable 
in  theu"  Town  or  Towns  adjacent  worthy  of  the  Publick  View ;  whether 
of  Remarkable  Judgments,  or  Singular  Mercies,  more  private  or  public ; 
Preservations  &  Deliverances  by  Sea  or  Land:  together  with  some 
other  Pieces  of  History  of  our  own,  &c.  that  may  be  profitable  &  en- 
tertaining both  to  the  Christian  and  Historian.  It  is  likewise  intended 
to  insert  in  this  Paper  a  Weekly  Accoimt  of  the  Nmnber  of  Persons 
Buried,  &  Baptized,  in  the  Town  of  Boston  :  With  several  other  Things 
that  at  present  can  only  be  thought  of,  that  may  be  of  Service  to  the 
8* 


90  NEW-ENGLAND    WEEKLY    JOURNAL. 

Puhlick :  And  special  care  will  be  taken  that  nothing  contrary  thereto 
shall  be  inserted. 

Those  Gentlemen  therefore  whether  in  Town  or  Country,  who  are 
inclined  to  Encourage  and  take  tliis  I^aper,  may  have  it  left  at  their 
Houses  in  the  Towti  of  Boston  or  Charlestown,  or  seal'd  up,  Directed 
and  Convey'd  as  they  shall  Order,  giving  Notice  at  the  Printing-House 
in  Queen-Street  Boston. 

The  Price  of  this  Paper  to  those  that  live  in  the  Tbii'/iwillbe  Sixteen 
Shillings  per  year,  and  Twenty  Shillings  if  Seal'd,  &c.  and  to  be  paid 
Quarterly. 

[IP=  This  may  serve  as  a  Notification,  that  a  Select  number  of  Gen- 
tlemen, who  have  had  the  happiness  of  a  liberal  Education,  and  some 
of  them  considerably  improv'd  l)y  their  Travels  into  distant  Countries  ; 
arc  now  concerting  some  regular  Schemes  for  tlic  Entertainment  of  the 
ingenious  Kcader,  and  the  Encouragement  of  Wit  and  Politeness  ;  and 
may  in  a  very  short  time,  open  upon  the  Public  in  a  variety  of  pleasing 
and  profitable  Speculations. 

This  address  is  followed  by  sundry  articles  under  the 
head  of  "  Foreign  Affairs,"  taken  from  the  London 
Journal  of  October  15,  17-2G,  —  five  months  earlier  than 
the  date  of  the  Weekly  Journal.  Then  follows  entries 
and  clearances  at  the  custom-houses  in  Philadelphia, 
New- York,  Salem,  and  New-Hampshire,  —  an  account 
of  the  annual  town-meeting  in  Boston  for  the  election  of 
municipal  officers,  —  a  paragraph  of  news  from  the 
West-Indies,  —  Burials  and  Baptisms  in  the  town  of 
Boston,  —  entries  and  clearances  at  the  Boston  custom- 
house,—  and  sundry  articles  of  intelligence,  communi- 
cated, apparently,  by  the  "  knowing  and  ingenious  gen- 
tlemen "  mentioned  in  the  introductory  address.  Three 
short  advertisements  fill  up  the  remainder  of  the  sheet. 
The  first,  a  sale  of  household  furniture  at  public  ven- 
due,—  the  second,  "a  convenient  piece  of  land  for  a 
house  lot "  —  the  third,  — 

*4.*  James  Lubback  Chocolate- Grinder,  Living  near  Mr.  Colman'a 
Meeting  House  in  Boston,  sells  the  best  Chocolate  by  Wholesale  and 


SAMUEL    KNEELAND.  WIS 

Retail  at  tlic  lowest  Prices :  He  also  takes  in  Cocoa-Nuts  to  grind  with 
expedition,  at  six  pence  per  pound. 

This  sheet  was  probably  issued  as  a  specimen  of  what 
the  publisher  intended  to  present  to  the  public,  —  the 
next  sheet,  issued  March  27,  being  "  Number  I. "  and 
the  numbers  then  following  in  regular  order. 

In  the  third  number  of  the  Journal,  April  10,  (which 
is  a  whole  sheet  of  four  folio  pages,)  is  the  first  of  a 
series  of  essays  which  were  continued  to  the  end  of  the 
year.  There  is  no  title  to  these  essays.  To  each  of 
them  is  prefixed  a  motto,  usually  taken  from  a  Latin 
Poet.  The  introductory  paper,  which  here  follows,  is 
not  inferior  in  easy  and  quiet  humor  to  those,  in  which 
Steele,  Addison,  and  Mackenzie  introduced  themselves 
to  the  readers  of  the  Tattler,  Spectator,  and  Mirror :  — 
NO.  I. 

Sunt  quibus  in  plures  jus  est  transire  figuras. 
Ovid.  Met. 

An  ingenious  Author  has  observed,  that  a  Reader  seldom  penises  a 
Book  with  Pleasure,  'till  he  has  a  tolerable  notion  of  the  Physiognomy 
of  the  Author,  the  Year  of  his  Birth,  and  his  m.anner  of  living,  with 
several  other  Particulars  of  the  like  Nature,  very  necessary  to  the  right 
understanding  his  Works.  This  Humour  I  find  not  a  little  remarkable 
in  my  own  Countrymen,  who  since  the  Advertisement  wliich  I  lately 
published,  have  been  very  busy  in  their  conjectures  at  my  Name,  the 
place  of  my  Abode,  and  my  Circumstances  of  Life.  Many  have  sup- 
posed me  to  be  a  certain  young  Gentleman,  who  has  given  the  Town 
several  beautiful  Pieces  of  Poetry :  Though  others  say  I  am  lately 
arrived  from  England,  accomplished  in  Mathematical  Learning.  I  have 
been  frcqxicntly  reported  to  wear  a  Band,  and  as  often  rc])rcscntcd  as  a 
Merchant,  wrapt  up  in  a  Callimanco  Night-Gown,  and  seated  very  con- 
veniently in  a  Compting-IIousc.  Sometimes  I  have  been  dispatch'd  to 
Cambridge  under  Fonn  of  a  Scholar,  Avhile  some  have  not  scrupled  to 
divest  me  of  all  these  my  Dignities,  and  clap  me  into  the  Habit  of  an 
old  Alm.anac-Maker. 

To  rectify  the  Judgment  of  my  Readers  in  this  important  matter, 
and  to  sooth  the  Curiosity  of  these  inquisitive  Gentlemen,  I  shall  here 


92  NEW-ENGLAND    WEEKLY    JOURNAL. 

give  them  a  brief  Account  of  myself,  witliout  Prejudice  or  Partiality. 
I  was  bom  in  the  Year  1666,  in  a  small  Cottage  at  Salem,  which  is  the 
principal  Reason,  as  I  have  been  apt  to  imagine,  that  People  have 
sometimes  suspected  me  for  a  Conjuror.  Though  when  I  have  often 
examined  myself  in  that  Particular,  I  have  thought,  as  for  as  I  know 
of  my  own  Heart,  that  1  have  looked  like  another  Christian.  But  as 
this  is  a  Case  of  Conscience,  fitter  to  be  decided  by  Divines  and  others 
skilled  in  those  Affaii-s,  than  by  me_who  am  but  a  simple  Lay-man,  I 
shall  refer  it  to  their  Consideration,  and  at  present  dismiss  it.  How- 
ever I  may  possibly  in  tlie  course  of  this  Work,  from  Time  to  Time, 
offer  to  tlie  AVorld,  such  lie:isons  as  incline  me  to  the  negative  side  of 
the  Question,  that  I  am  no  Wizard :  Put  that  being  only  my  own  pri- 
vate Opinion,  I  shall  not  presume  to  palm  it  upon  others. 

The  most  remarkable  Passage  of  my  Childhood,  was,  a  wonderful 
Talent  I  had  to  imitate  any  thing  that  I  saw  or  heard.  I  could  grunt 
like  a  Hog,  roar  like  a  Lion,  or  bellow  like  a  Bull.  I  was  once  very 
near  being  worried  by  a  pack  of  rascally  Dogs,  who  took  me  for  a  Fox, 
I  deceived  their  Ears  with  so  natural  a  Squeal :  And  I  was  a  particular 
Pavorite  of  all  the  Hens  in  the  Neiborhood,  I  rival'd  the  Cock  with  a 
Crow  so  very  exquisite  &  inimitable.  I  will  add.  for  the  Satisfaction 
and  Emolument  of  my  Enemies,  that  when  I  Hoot  they  would  infalli- 
bly t^akc  me  for  an  Owl ;  as  also  on  occasion  I  can  Bray  so  very  ad- 
vantagiously,  that  few  Asses  can  go  beyond  me. 

Nay  to  such  a  Perfection  am  I  anivcd  in  tlie  Art  of  Mimickry,  that 
I  am  able  not  only  to  take  any  sound  that  I  hear,  but  I  have  a  Faculty 
of  looking  Hke  any  Body  I  think  fit.  There  is  no  Person  that  ever  I 
have  seen  but  I  can  immediately  throw  all  his  Features  into  my  Face, 
assume  his  air  and  monopolize  bis  whole  Countenance.  I  remember 
when  I  was  a  School-Boy  my  Master  once  gave  me  an  unlucky  Pap  on 
my  Pate,  for  a  Fault  committed  by  Giles  Horror,  whose  Visage  1  had  at 
that  time  unfortunately  put  on.  Esau  Absent  may  remember  me  to  this 
day,  if  lie  be  li^^ng,  how  his  mother  took  me  for  him,  when  I  marched  off 
in  Triumph,  with  a  huge  Lunch  of  Bread  and  Butter,  that  was  just 
spread  for  Esau's  Dinner.  I  am  the  more  large  on  this  part  of  my 
character,  because  it  is  in  a  great  measure,  the  Ground-work  of  these 
Lucubrations,  inasmuch  as  I  intend  frequently  to  write  in  Quality  of  an 
Imitator.  My  way  of  l)antcring  a  Folly  shall  be  to  represent  it  as  in  a 
Glass,  and  I  shall  make  it  Pidiculous  by  exposing  it  just  as  it  is.  If  I 
criticise  upon  any  incon-ec^t  Performances,  my  Readers  must  not  wonder 
if  my  Criticism  is  incorrect ;  As  on  the  other  Hand,  K  I  have  occasion 
to  commend  any  beautiful  or  sublime  Production,  I  shall  endeavor  to 
Avrite  in  the  Spirit  of  such  an  Author.     Tho'  as  to  tliis  last  Point,  I 


SAMUEL     KNEELAND.  93 

must  acknowledge,  I  am  very  much  afraid  I  shall  fail  I  For  to  confess 
a  secret  which  I  desire  may  go  no  further,  I  find  I  can  with  much  more 
Ease  &  Facility,  tread  in  the  Steps  of  a  r/rub-street  or  bombastick  Writer, 
than  of  one  whose  Compositions  are  finished  with  Purity  and  Elo- 
quence. I  own  it  is  a  considerable  Grief  to  me  to  reflect  how  much 
more  able  I  am  to  follow  People  in  their  Infirmities  than  in  their  good 
Examples ;  and  with  what  dexterity  I  can  write  Improbabilities  and 
Contradictions,  when  I  am  obliged  to  take  such  pains  to  attain  to  any 
tolerable  degree  of  Propriety  &  Exactness.  This  reduces  my  Capacity 
for  Imitation  to  the  uncomfortable  Diminution  of  Apishness  &  Buf- 
foonery ;  so  that  I  have  often  with  great  shame  of  Heart,  secretly  com- 
pared myself  to  a  Monkey.  Those  who  have  given  us  accounts  of  the 
jBasMndies  tell  us  of  a  certain  Bird  there,  which  its  Fellow-Inhabitants 
call  the  Mock-Bird.  This  Gentleman  in  Feathers,  is  remarkable  for  hav- 
ing no  Note  of  his  own,  but  is  beholden  to  every  Sound  he  hears  for 
his  Accent.  The  Bustling  of  the  Leaves  on  the  Trees,  the  Billing  of 
Brooks,  the  Noise  of  the  several  Beasts,  the  Songs  of  other  Birds,  or 
the  Words  of  Men,  are  alike  to  him ;  and  he  repeats  them  all  with  equal 
Nicety  and  Art.  I  cannot  but  look  upon  myself,  as  having  a  remote 
Affinity  to  that  Bird,  in  that  I  can  pretend  to  no  Fund  of  good  sense 
in  my  Mind,  but  must  be  obliged  perpetually  to  one  Author  or  another 
for  Patterns  to  copy  after,  or  else  I  must  e'en  be  contented  to  hold  my 
Tongue. 

I  have  now  finished  two  momentous  Articles,  viz.  my  Age  &  my 
Aspect  to  which  I  have  added  the  Tongue  of  my  Voice.  It  remains 
that  I  say  something  of  my  present  Condition,  and  this  I  shall  do,  (as 
an  ingenious  Author  whom  I  am  now  imitating  has  admu'ably  expressed 
it)  in  a  very  clear  and  concise  manner.  But  first  I  must  acquaint  my 
Readers  with  some  former  Parts  of  my  Life,  without  which  my  History 
will  be  very  imperfect  and  incomplete. 

Know  then  that  when  I  was  Three  Years  old,  I  was  sent  to  School 
to  a  Mistress,  where  I  learned  to  read  with  great  Expedition  &  Dis- 
patch ;  for  which  Reason,  in  my  Fifth  Year,  I  was  taken  away  and  put 
to  a  Writing-Master.  In  my  seventh  Year  I  could  flourish  a  tolerable 
Hand,  and  began  my  Grammar.  By  that  time  I  was  Fourteen,  I  was 
a  considerable  Proficient  in  the  Latin  &  Greek  Languages  and  was  ad- 
mitted into  Harvard  College.  I  staid  a  member  of  that  learned  Body 
the  usual  Time,  and  then  entered  upon  my  Travels  to  China,  Japan,  & 
Bantam,  in  the  latter  of  which  I  continued  several  Years  Fellow  of  a  So- 
ciety of  Brachmans,  from  whom  I  learned  many  curious  Secrets,  which 
it  may  be  I  shall  in  some  of  my  subsequent  Entertainments  communi- 
cate to  the  Publick.    It  was  in  these  my  Peregrinations,  that  I  used  every 


94  NEW-ENGLAND    WEEKLY    JOURNAL. 

Week  to  note  down,  in  a  Book  wliich  I  Provided  for  that  Piiipose,  all 
tliose  things  that  I  met  with,  and  tliought  wortliy  Remark.  From  which 
Origin  my  Paper  derives  its  Title,  for  being  so  used  to  the  Name,  I 
could  think  of  nothing  more  readily  than,  The  Weekly  Journal. 

I  must  not  omit  one  old  Stroke  of  my  Character,  which  seems  to  be 
peculiar  to  my  self;  that,  though  I  out-stripped  all  my  Sodales  in  every 
other  Study,  I  could  never  attain  to  any  tolerable  understanding  in 
Arethmetick.  Wliile  I  was  at  School  I  remember  I  was  not  able  by 
any  methods  I  could  make  use  of,  to  lay  three  Figures  together,  and 
compute  what  would  be  the  Total :  Unless  they  happcn'd  to  be  three 
Unites,  and  then  I  took  care  to  bear  in  mind,  that  my  ^Master  often  told 
me  they  would  amount  to  just  3.  Indeed  I  am  at  Present  a  better  Mas- 
ter of  numbers  than  so,  liaving  liy  many  Years  close  Application,  jojiied 
with  tlic  Insti-uctions  and  Assistances  of  the  Brachmans  airivcd  as  far 
in  that  Science,  as  Addition  of  Money,  which  is  no  little  consolation  to 
me  in  tliis  my  declining  Old  Age.  And  as  this  is  a  Subject  upon  which 
I  have  of  late  years  delighted  much  to  dwell  upon,  I  shall  acquaint  my 
Readers,  that  I  am  a  very  Rich  Old  Fellow,  liale  and  fresh,  in  the  Six- 
tieth Spring  of  my  Life.  In  the  richest  Tiller  of  my  Chest,  in  all 
humane  Probability,  there  cannot  be  less  than  One  Pound  Thuteen 
Shillings  &  Seven  Pence  Half-Penny.  This  I  am  the  more  willing  to 
make  kno^vn  (tho'  otherwise  I  love  to  keep  my  OAvn  Council  in  these 
matters  of  money,  ever  since  I  once  had  two  pence  stole  from  me,  when  I 
unadvisedly  mentioned  where  I  had  hid  it.)  But  at  present,  I  say,  I  am 
the  more  foi-ward  to  tell  (and  indeed  I  love  to  repeat  it)  that  I  am  a 
wealthy  old  Curmudgeon,  because  I  hope  the  Publick  will  pay  a  suita- 
ble Deference  to  my  Speculations  when  they  know  how  rich  the  Author 
is :  As  well  in  that  it  will  convince  them  that  I  do  not  wi-ite  for  the 
Lucre  of  Gain,  (as  some  well  express  it)  and  as  also  in  that  money 
always  commands  Respect. 

TuEKE  is  one  Question  more  that  waits  for  a  Solution ;  and  that  is 
concerning  my  Name.  But  here  now  is  the  Unhappiness  !  1  have,  through 
the  Infirmity  of  Old  Age,  entirely  forgot  all  about  it  j  so  that  Posterity 
must  e'en  be  content  to  know  that  the  Author  of  the  Weekly  Journal 
had  a  name  once,  tho'  perhaps  neither  tliey  nor  I  will  ever  be  able  to 
invent  what  it  was.  However,  for  the  further  Satisfaction  of  the 
World,  I  shall  allow  People  in  their  Letters  to  me,  to  dignify  &  distin- 
guish me  by  what  Title  they  please ;  and  if  any  of  them  should  be  so 
happy  as  to  hit  my  tme  name,  as  soon  as  I  once  hear  it  again,  I  shall 
remember  it,  and  I  shall  accordingly  make  use  of  it  for  the  future. 
This  Invitation  I  am  sensible  will  be  the  Occasion  of  a  variety  of 
pleasant  Appellations,  with  which  my  ingenious  Correspondents  will  be 


SAMUEL    KNEELAND.  95 

apt  to  shew  their  Parts  upon  me.  One  will  address  his  Epistle,  To  the 
M'^orthy  Mr.  Thomas  Foot..  Another  will  compliment  mo  with  the 
Denomination  of  the  Honourable  Squire  Noxsense.  I  shall  be  saluted 
by  a  third,  These  for  Honest  Jack  Blunderbuss:  While  a  fourth 
superscribes  his  Letter,  Humbly  Present,  To  the  Right  Worshipfull  Sir 
James  Numscull,  Knt.  But  these  things  I  shall  bear  with  a  great 
deal  of  Resignation  and  Patience,  and  shall  not  only  pardon  my  hu- 
mourous Correspondents  of  this  Kind,  but  so  long  as  men  are  thus 
Witty,  shall  not  fail  to  give  them  all  reasonable  Encouragement. 

P.  S.  Those  Gentlemen  or  Ladies  who  will  do  me  the  Honour  to 
write  to  me,  and  by  that  means  contribute  to  the  Embellishment  of  my 
Journal,  are  desired  to  direct  their  Letters,  till  I  can  think  of  my  true 
name,  (unless  they  are  disposed  to  be  more  than  ordinary  Witty  and 
Satp-ical)  To  PROTEUS  ECHO,  Esq,  at  Mr.  Samuel  Kneeland's  in 
Queen  Street,  Post  Paid.  E. 

In  his  next  paper  the  writer  proceeds,  agreeably  to 
the  example  of  his  great  prototypes  of  the  Tattler  and 
Spectator,  —  then  in  the  height  of  their  popularity,  —  to 
give  an  account  of  the  members  of  "  the  Society." 
The  members,  at  a  formal  meeting,  were  ordered  to  put 
on  their  best  countenances,  and  to  form  themselves  into  a 
semi-circle,  fronting  the  limner,  who  was  seated  at  a  con- 
venient distance,  and  thus  sketched  their  portraits  :  — 

The  Person  that  was  opposite  to  me,  and  seem'd  to  demand  the  ear- 
liest Notice,  was  the  Honourable  Charles  Gravely,  Esq  ;  a  Gentleman  of 
most  remarkable  Eigure  and  Majesty,  and  for  that  Reason  has  the  Hon- 
our of  the  Chair  and  is  every  way  qualified  to  Adorn  it.  He  has  been 
for  many  years  a  Merchant  of  considerable  Eminence  in  the  Province 
of  Massachusetts,  and  has  traded  for  many  Thousand  of  Pounds  in  Wit 
and  Eloquence,  and  all  sorts  of  the  richest  Styles  and  Figures,  that  are  of 
such  use  in  the  Commonwealth  of  Letters ;  And  could  never  be  persuad- 
ed to  venture  his  Merchandize  abroad,  upon  any  other  Bottom  than 
that  of  Good  Sense ;  for  which  Reason  he  has  in  all  his  Adventures 
succeeded  to  Admu-ation.  He  is  of  all  our  Society,  the  best  acquainted 
with  the  varioiis  Humours  and  Passions  of  Mankind,  and  can  only  l)y 
the  Light  of  the  Face,  veiy  often  discover  the  secret  motions  and  Pro- 
pensity of  the  Heart ;  so  that  it  is  sometimes  very  dangerous  being  in 
his  Company.  I  was  once  resolved,  if  it  were  possible,  to  deceive  him, 
and  had  by  a  great  deal  of  Subtilty,  spread  an  ai'tificial  Melancholy 


96  NEW-ENGLAND    WEEKLY    JOURNAL. 

over  my  whole  Countenance,  while  my  breast  was  labouring  with  some 
comical  Idea  (which  himself  was  the  occasion  of)  and  ready  to  burst 
into  Laughter.  The  Squire  gave  me  but  one  half  Glance  from  his  left 
Eye,  and  discovered  the  Dissimulation,  to  my  Surprize  and  Confusion. 
He  seldom  speaks  but  at  the  Decision  of  some  warm  and  tedious 
Debate,  at  which  Time  he  has  it  in  his  Power  to  Command  the  Aftec- 
tions  of  his  little  Auditory  at  his  Pleasure.  There  is  somctliing  so 
peculiar  and  astonishing  in  liis  Countenance,  that  a  Lady,  as  it  is 
reported,  was  so  imfortimate  as  to  fall  into  sudden  Lal)our  at  the  Sight 
of  him,  as  he  happen'd  accidentally  to  stalk  by  her  "Window.  If  at 
any  Time  the  Society  have  started  some  meiTV  and  ridiculous  subject, 
and  happen  at  his  Appearance  to  be  all  upon  the  Grin ;  his  Presence 
will  in  an  Instant  strike  out  every  Wrinkle,  and  awe  them  into  the 
strictest  Gravity  and  Composure.  And  when  we  are  disposed  to  be 
dull  and  hea^'J',  as  is  too  common,  he  can  by  the  Magick  of  a  certain 
Figure,  throw  us  into  a  kind  of  Convulsion,  and  keep  us  upon  the 
Titter  and  Shake,  for  the  half  Hour  together.  In  short,  there  is  no 
resisting  his  Aspect  nor  Eloquence. 

At  the  right  hand  of  Squire  Gravely,  sits  Mr.  Timothy  Blunt,  who 
lives  some  distance  from  tlie  Town  of  Boston,  but  is,  notwithstanding, 
very  const.int  in  his  attendance  at  our  Meetings.  He  is  a  Person  of 
great  plainness  of  Aspect,  Speech,  and  Behaviour,  and  has  such  an 
Aversion  to  Bombastick-writing,  that  he  wnll  not  allow  of  any  thing 
that  is  Gay  or  Fantastical,  in  his  House  or  Apparel.  His  Horse  for  its 
Poverty  and  the  Length  of  its  Tail,  is  admirably  calculated  for  the 
Surinam-Marld,  upon  which  he  rides  to  Town  once  every  Week,  and 
very  often  brings  his  Wallet  ballanced  with  two  Bottles  of  Milk,  to  de- 
fray his  necessary  Expenses.  His  Perriwigg  has  been  out  of  the  Curl, 
ever  since  the  Revolution,  and  his  Dagger  and  Doublet  are  supposed  to 
be  the  rarest  Pieces  of  Antiquity  in  the  Country.  As  for  his  Intellectu- 
als, they  are  by  Reason  of  Age,  and  an  unlucky  stroke  wliich  he  re- 
ceived in  a  certain  place  in  his  Infancy,  very  much  out  of  Repair  at  this 
Time :  However,  he  has  Soul  enough  left  him  to  master  the  wliole 
Mathematicks ;  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  this  Accident,  he  would 
doubtless  have  stood  the  fairest  of  any  of  his  Contempory's  to  have 
found  out  the  Philosopher's- Stone. 

Next  follows  my  dear  Friend  and  old  Companion,  the  famous  Mr. 
Christopher  Careless,  an  Inhabitant  of  Boston,  and  one  wlio  has  by  a  close 
and  vigorous  Application  to  Business,  sunk  a  very  ])lentiful  Patrimony, 
and  reduced  his  Fortune  to  a  Level  with  his  Ambition.  He  has  of  all 
Men  living  the  most  passionate  Thirst  after  agreeable  Society,  and 
Conversation :  And  yet  has  the  wonderful  Faculty  of  retiring  when  he 


SAMUEL     KNEELAND.  97 

is  in  the  best  of  Company :  For  let  the  Society  be  ever  so  closely  en- 
gaged in  Pursuits  of  the  greatest  Importance,  his  Soul  M'ill  in  Spite  of 
all  the  Temptations  which  are  before  him,  sink  down  into  his  Body,  as 
a  Candle  into  the  Socket,  and  he  hears  no  more  of  the  Discourse  than  if 
he  Avas  absent :  And  yet  he  is  always  ready  with  an  answer  to  every 
Question  which  he  did  not  hear.  This  Person  is,  notwithstanding,  of 
singular  Advantage  to  our  Society :  He  dives  into  himself  for  all  those 
Treasures  of  Knowledge  with  which  he  is  so  wonderfully  furnished, 
and  he  can,  when  he  is  much  provoked,  fetch  out  of  his  own  Mine,  such 
excellent  Maxims  and  Observations,  as  are  not  to  be  found  in  any 
other  Soil.  He  seems  to  be  the  favourite  and  darling  of  Nature,  and 
receives  at  the  first  Hand,  all  those  Intellectual  Blessings  which  others 
are  forced  to  endeaAOur  after  by  a  long  and  painful  Disquisition.  To 
conclude.  He  is  a  man  of  great  Goodness  of  Temper  when  he  is  well 
pleased,  and  let  him  be  kept  from  strong  Liquor,  and  there  is  not  a 
more  sober  temperate  Person  in  the  whole  Neighborhood. 

One  of  tliis  Association  happens  to  be  Mr.  Will.  Bitterly,  a  Man  that 
trades  with  the  Stars,  and  has  been  all  his  Life  a  Fortiine-Teller.  He 
is  descended  in  a  direct  line  (tho'  I  have  forgot  the  number  of  Genera- 
tions) from  old  Diogenes  the  Father  of  the  Cynicks,  and  is  pretty  much 
like  him  in  Temper  &  Complection.  This  Person  has  taken  up  a  Kcs- 
olution  against  Matrimony,  by  reason  of  several  threatening  Lines  and 
Crosses  in  the  Palms  of  his  Hands,  which  he  supposes  portend  domes- 
tick  Jangles  and  Disasters.  I  have  been  credibly  informed,  that  he  has 
foretold  many  exti-aordinary  Events  as  soon  as  they  have  come  to  pass, 
and  once  I  remember,  his  warning  a  Company  of  very  hopeful  Sti'ip- 
lings,  against  the  Danger  of  being  fudled,  when  there  appeared  to  be 
no  other  Symptoms  of  the  Catasti'ophe,  than  a  large  Bowl,  very  briskly 
sailing  round  the  Table ;  What  it  contained,  I  do  not  pretend  to  de- 
termine, but  that  very  Night  according  to  the  Prediction,  they  were  all 
unhappily  Cast-away,  and  some  of  them  very  much  Damaged.  There 
are  now  entered  down  in  the  Minutes  of  our  Society  several  of  his 
Prognostications  of  which  we  expect  a  punctual  and  speedy  Accom- 
plishment :  And  he  has  very  lately  ventured  to  Prophesy  something 
that  relates  to  this  Paper,  viz.  That  some  of  the  finest,  most  elegant 
and  sublime  Pieces  that  may  shine  out  in  the  leaves  of  these  Lucubra- 
tions, will  certainly  meet  with  very  cold  and  indifferent  Eeception,  and 
that  all  the  low  and  grovelling  Performances  (if  there  should  be  any) 
will  consequently  meet  with  universal  Applause.  I  shall  therefore  cal- 
culate some  of  my  Speculations  to  the  taste  of  the  Populace,  and 
would  not  by  any  means  have  the  Publick  suppose  that  it  is  for  want  of 
Ability,  that  I  am  now  and  then  very  dull,  the'  that  possibly  may  be 
the  very  Reason.  9 


98  NEW-ENGLAND    WEEKLY    JOURNAL. 

And  now  comes  the  wonderful  Mr.  Honeysuckle,  the  Blossom  of  onr 
Society,  and  the  beautiful  Ornament  of  Litterature  ;  a  Person  of  most 
extravagant  Imagination,  and  one  who  lives  perpetually  upon  Tropes 
and  Similes.  In  his  common  Conversation,  he  talks  in  Metaphor  and 
Ih-perbole,  and  his  vciy  Gesture  is  Allegorical.  He  has  a  lofty  and 
poetical  Countenance,  which  perfectly  Khimcs  with  his  Genius:  And 
his  Fancy  is  like  a  wide  and  magnificent  IJoom,  that  is  hung  with  a 
confused  variety  of  Landskips,  of  liis  own  making,  and  his  Judfimcnt 
can  hardly  give  its  Approbation  to  any  thing,  tliat  docs  not  l)orderupon 
the  Sublime.  He  has  a  tall  and  towering  Spirit,  that  scorns  to  be 
chain'd  to  the  Laws  of  Mortality ;  and  will  vcit  often  start  away  in  a 
visionary  Excursion  to  tlic  di.stant  Parts  of  the  Universe.  He  has  con- 
tracted an  intimate  Acquaintance  with  all  the  Planetar}'  Worlds,  and 
can  give  a  very  romantick  Account  of  the  ditlerent  Species  of  its  num- 
berless Inhabitants,  Customs  and  Constitutions.  By  the  Assistance  of 
his  natural  &  acquired  Endowments,  he  is  such  a  Master  at  Versifica- 
tion that  one  of  his  acquaintance  has  offered  a  considerable  Wager 

upon  his  Faculty,  against  the  great  LAW,  and  even  Dr.  H R 

himself,  and  tho'  I  dare  not  lise  to  such  a  Height  in  my  Opinion  of  his 
Capacity,  yet  I  cannot  but  think  he  deserves  the  next  Place  to  these 
wonderful  Authors.  He  has  attained  to  a  considerable  Perfection  in 
the  Art  of  Painting,  and  has  given  some  incontcstible  Proofs  of  his 
Improvement ;  Havin;^  ol)ligcd  our  Club-Room,  with  tlic  Draught  of  a 
Beau,  a  clo^vn  and  a  Coquet ;  and  in  Pursuance  of  a  late  Vote  of  our 
Society,  is  now  taking  the  Pliisiognoniy  of  what  we  call  a  Critick. 

I  might  add  the  Character  of  Two  Divines  wlio  sometimes  do  us  the 
Honour  to  sit  with  us  half  an  Hour,  and  improve  us  witli  their  Excel- 
lent Conversation  ;  But  these  Gentlemen  are  above  the  reach  of  my 
Pen  to  do  them  Justice.  Their  Lives  are  regular  and  Exemplary ; 
their  Learning  Solid  and  Profound,  and  in  the  Pulpit,  they  command 
the  Attention  of  their  Audience  with  the  Gracefulness  of  their  Air,  the 
Musick  of  their  Voice,  and  the  noble  JIajesty  of  their  Eloquence. 
These  Gentlemen  will  have  no  inconsiderable  Hand  in  these  Weekly 
Entertainments.  M. 

Tlic  third  number  of  these  Essays  is  a  "  Criticism 

upon  Nonsense,"  which  bestows  some  wholesome  ridicule 

upon  the  false  taste,  that  was  thouirht  to  prevail  among 

the  writers  of  that  period.     One  of  those  writers,  "  Mr. 

George  Brimstone  by  Name,"  is  thus  described  :  — 

Mr.  Brimstone,  as  to  his  exterior  Figure,  is  one  of  the  portliest  Mor- 
tals that  have  flourished  in  our   World,  since   Goliah  overtop'd  the 


SAMUEL    KNEELAND.  99 

Philistian  Army.  He  is,  moderately  speaking,  Nine  Foot  high,  and 
Four  in  Diameter.  His  Voice  is  not  unlike  the  Roar  and  Rapidity  of 
a  ToiTent  foaming  down  a  Mountain,  and  reverberated  among  the 
neighboring  Rocks.  The  hurry  of  Vociferation  in  which  he  drives 
along  in  the  Heat  of  an  Argument,  imitates  the  Thunder  of  a  Cart- 
load of  Stones  poured  out  upon  a  pavement.  He  was  educated  in  a 
Ship  of  war,  and  one  would  imagine  he  learnt  the  Notes  of  his  Gamut, 
from  the  various  Whistlings  of  a  Tempest  thro'  the  Rigging  of  his 
Vessel.  I  was  once  so  unadvised  as  to  offer  my  Dissent  from  one  of 
his  Opinions  ;  but  I  had  better  have  held  my  Tongue :  He  turned  upon 
me,  and  rung  me  such  a  peal  of  Eloquence,  that  had  I  not  made  off 
with  the  gi-eatest  Precipitation,  would  have  gone  near  to  have  stun'd, 
and  made  me  Deaf  all  my  Days.  Nay,  I  have  cause  to  think  my  Hear- 
ing has  been  never  the  better  for  it  to  this  Moment. 

This  is  a  short  Description  of  his  external  Accomplishments ;  as  to 
the  Qualifications  of  his  Mind,  they  will  be  best  perceived,  by  a  Trans- 
cript I  shall  here  make,  from  an  Oration  he  composed  in  Praise  of 
Beacon-Hill.  I  must  inform  my  Readers,  that  it  was  conceived  as  he 
stood  upon  the  Summit  of  that  little  Mount,  one  Training  Day,  when, 
as  he  has  since  owned  to  me,  the  Drums  and  Musquets  assisted  his 
Inspiration,  and  augmented  and  deepened  the  Rumbling  of  his  Periods. 
It  begins  in  the  following  manner  — 

The  gloriously-transcendent,  and  highly-exalted  Precipice,  from 
which  the  sonorous  Accents  of  my  Lungs  I'esouud  with  repeated  Echoes, 
is  so  pompous,  magnificent,  illustrious,  and  loftily-towering,  that,  as  I 
twirl  around  my  arm  with  the  artful  flourish  of  an  Orator,  I  seem  to 
feel  my  Knuckles  rebound  from  the  blue  Vault  of  Heaven,  which  just 
arches  over  my  Head,  I  stand  upon  an  amazing  Eminence  that  heaves 
itself  up,  on  both  sides  steep  and  stupendous  !  high  and  horrendous  ! 
The  spiiT  TeneriflFe,  the  unshaken  Atlas,  or  OljTnpus  divine  and  celes- 
tial, when  compared  to  this  prodigious  mountain,  sink  to  Sands,  and 
dwindle  to  Atoms.  It  is  deep-rooted  in  its  ever-during  Foundations, 
firm  as  the  Earth,  lasting  as  the  Sun,  immovable  as  the  Pillars  of  Na- 
ture !  I  behold  from  this  awful  and  astonishing  Situation,  the  concave 
Expanse  of  uncreated  Space,  stretch  itself  above,  and  the  Land  and 
Ocean  below,  spreading  an  Infinitude  of  Extension  all  about  me.  But 
what  daring  Tropes  and  flaming  Metaphors  shall  I  select,  O  aspiring 
Beacon !  to  celebrate  Thee  with  a  suitable  Grandeur,  or  lift  Thee  to 
a  becoming  Dignity  1  How  does  it  shoot  up  its  inconceivable  Pinnacle 
into  the  superior  Regions,  and  blend  itself  with  the  cendian  circumam- 
bient Ether  !  It  mocks  the  fiercest  Efforts  of  our  most  piercing  Sight 
to  reach  to  its  hnpeneti'able  Sublimities.     It  looks  down  upon  the  di- 


100  NEW-ENGLAND    WEEKLY    JOURNAL. 

minisb'd  Spheres  ;  the  fixt  Stars  twincle  at  an  immeasurable  Distance 
beneath  it,  while  the  Planets  roll  away  unperccived,  in  a  vast,  a  fatliom- 
less  Profound !    *    *    *    * 

The  writer  proceeds  to  give  an  account  of  Mr.  Brim- 
stone's Poem  on  Love,  addressed  to  his  Mistress,  in 
which,  in  fifly-six  lines,  there  were  three  Celestials, 
eight  Immortals,  eleven  Unboundech,  six  Everlastings, 
four  Eternities,  and  thirteen  Infinities  ;  besides  Bellow- 
ings.  Ravings,  Yellings,  Horrors,  Terribles,  Jlackets, 
Hubbubs,  and  Clutterings,  without  number.  But  the 
gentleman's  Poetical  Description  of  a  Game  at  Push 
Pin,  was  considered  his  master-piece.  This  poem  be- 
gan thus : — 

Rage,  fire  and  fury  in  my  bosom  roll, 
And  all  the  gods  rush  headlong  on  my  soul. 

The  pins  are  likened  to  two  comets,  enlightening  the 

boundless  deserts  of  the  skies  with  a  bloody  glare  ;  and 

their  first  encounter  was  as  if  the  two  continents  came 

in   contact  and  produced  a  direful    concussion    in    the 

midst  of  the  briny  Atlantic.     The  poem  concluded  with 

the  following  Lines  :  — 

The  Bars  of  Brass,  harsh-crasliing,  loud  resound, 
And  jarring  Discords  rend  th'  astonish'd  ground. 
So  when  aloft  dire  Hurricanes  arise, 
And  with  horrcndouns  shattcrings  burst  the  skies, 
Dread  ghastly  Ten-ors  drive  along  in  crowds. 
And  hideous  Thunder  howls  amongst  the  Clouds ; 
Eternal  Whirlwinds  on  the  Ocean  roar, 
Infinite  Eartliquakes  rock  the  hounding  shore. 

Most  of  the  human  passions,  virtues  and  vices,  are 
subjects  of  discussion  in  the  following  numbers,  treated 
with  becoming  earnestness  ;  the  more  harmless  follies  of 
the  day  are  touched  with  the  pencil  of  levity.  It  is  said 
that  these  essays  were  written  by  three  different  persons, 


SAMUEL  KNEELAND. 


but  it  is  not  possible  now  to  identify  tbe  several  writers. 
Judge  Danforth,  the  Rev.  Mather  Byles,  and  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Prince,  were  undoubtedly  contributors  to  the 
Journal.  Tradition  affirms  that  most  of  the  poetical 
contributions  were  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Byles.  The 
thirt}-fii'st  number  was  written  soon  after  the  great 
Earthquake.  Fear  is  the  subject  of  discussion,  and  the 
writer  attempts  to  show  that  "  Fear  always  rises  in  pro- 
portion to  the  worth  and  excellence  of  what  it  is  proba- 
ble we  shall  part  with  ; "  and  as  nothing  is  more  dear 
than  life,  it  is  thence  concluded  that  the  terror  inspired 
by  the  earthquake  was  a  natural  emotion  :  — 

"WTien  the  Earth  i-umbles  under  us,  and  begins  to  wave  and  quiver, 
where  shall  we  run  for  Refuge  and  Safety  ?  To  our  Habitations  1 
They  feel  the  same  trembling  and  con\'ulsion  with  the  Earth.  Shall 
we  run  out  into  our  Streets  1  The  Earth  may  gape  under,  or  our 
Houses  tumble  over  us.  If  we  ascend  the  tops  of  Hills,  the  Earth- 
quake is  there,  and  the  Mountains  ship  and  leap  like  Lambs ;  either  that 
part  under  our  Feet  may  open  and  so  ingulph  us,  or  the  whole  of  them 
may  sink  down  till  their  Tops  are  lower  than  the  Valleys  which  before 
lay  at  their  feet  If  we  imagine  to  fly  to  the  Waters,  Flames  may 
belch  out  of  the  Sea  and  make  a  speedy  consumption  of  us,  or  our 
Foundation  may  fail  us  before  we  can  get  thither.  So  that,  upon  all 
accounts,  an  Earthquake  leaves  us  the  least  Secm'ity  of  our  Lives  of 
any  one  temporal  Judgment.  K  an  Earthquake  be  caus'd  by  impris- 
on'd  Wind,  which  wanting  Vent,  rushes  with  a  bellowing  Roar  under 
the  Earth,  and  heaves  up  the  Ground  into  Trembles,  it  must  give  us  an 
amazing  Hon'or  to  think  this  Subteri'anean  Vapour  must  break  out 
somewhere  or  other,  and  that  we  don't  know  but  it  may  rush  out  under 
our  Feet,  and  bury  us  all  in  one  prodigious  Chasm.  If  it  be  caused  by 
Fires,  which  burn  under  us,  and  run  in  Rivers,  of  Flame,  which  threaten 
to  blaze  out  in  the  most  dreadful  Eruptions  ;  it  must  fearfully  surprize 
to  think  how  the  out^vard  Convex  Earth  which  is  our  present  Founda- 
tion, is  only  an  Arch,  which  as  it  were  hangs  over  a  fiery  Sea ;  and 
that  if  it  should  once  cave  in,  we  should  fall  into  a  Boiling  and  Sul- 
phurious  Lake. 

It  is  the  Sentiment  of  the  best  modem  Philosophers,  that  the  Earth 
is  continually  sapt  and  undermined  by  Fu-e ;  and  its  Vitals  bmnit  with 
9* 


102  NEW-ENGLAND    WEEKLY    JOURNAL. 

an  hectick  Fever,  so  that  it  is  gradually  preparing  for  the  final  Confla- 
gration, when  its  exti'cme  Surface  will  at  last  share  the  Fate  that  is  now 
suffered  by  its  Entrails.  Doubtless  those  burning  Mountains  wliich 
throw  out  of  their  Caverns  perpetual  Flames  and  Cinder,  and  some- 
times vomit  Rivers  of  melted  materials,  have  numerous  Sources  from 
all  parts  of  this  Globe,  which  still  supply  them  vnth.  fresh  and  eternal 
Recruits.  So  that  an  Earthquake  must  needs  give  us  some  natm-al 
Expectation  and  Image  of  those  last  ti-emcndous  Convulsions  when 
this  large  and  spacious  .iVi'ch  which  is  stretch'd  over  the  Hollow  that  ia 
under  it,  shall  descend  down  with  a  mighty  noise,  and  the  Waves  of 
Fire  breaking  out,  shall  boil  over  it. 

This  essay  closes  with  the  following  Hymn  :  — 
The  GOD  of  Tempest. 
I. 
Thy  dreadful  Pow'r,  Almighty  GOD 

Thy  AA''orks  to  speak  conspire ; 
This  Earth  declares  thy  Fame  abroad, 
With  Water,  Air,  and  Fire. 

n. 

At  thy  Command  in  glaring  Streaks, 

The  ruddy  Lightning  flies  ; 
Loud  Thunder  the  Creation  shakes. 

And  rapid  Tempests  rise. 
lU. 
The  gathering  Glooms  obscure  the  Day, 

And  shed  a  solemn  Night ; 
And  now  the  heav'uly  Engines  play. 

And  shoot  devouring  Light. 
IV. 
Th'  attending  Sea  thy  will  performs, 

Waves  turaVjle  to  the  shore, 
Aud  toss  and  foam  amid  the  Stonns, 

And  dash,  and  rage,  and  roar. 
V. 
The  Earth  and  aU  her  trembling  Hills 

Thy  marching  Footsteps  o^sti  : 
A  shud'ring  Fear  her  Entrails  fills, 

Ilcr  hideous  Caverns  groan. 
VT. 
My  GOD,  when  TciTors  thickest  throng,  — 

Thi-o'  all  tlie  mighty  space. 


SAMUEL     KNEELAND.  103 

And  rattling  Thunders  roar  along, 

And  bloody  Lightnings  blaze : 
VII. 
When  wild  Confusion  wrecks  the  Air, 

And  Tempests  rend  the  Skies, 
Whilst  blended  Ruin,  Clouds,  and  Fire 

In  harsh  disorder  rise ; 

VIII. 
Amid  the  Hurricane  I  '11  stand. 

And  strike  a  tuneful  Song  ; 
My  Harp  all-trembling  in  my  hand, 

And  all  inspir'd  my  Tongue. 

IX. 

I  '11  shout  aloud,  Ye  Thunders  !  roll. 

And  shake  the  sullen  Sky ; 
Your  sounding  Voice  from  Pole  to  Pole 

In  angry  murmurs  try. 
X. 
Thou  Sun !  retire,  refuse  thy  Light, 

And  let  thy  Beams  decay : 
Ye  Lightnings  !  flash  along  the  Night, 

And  dart  a  dreadful  Day. 

XI. 

Let  the  Earth  totter  on  her  Base, 

Clouds  Heav'n's  wide  Arch  defonn  ; 
Blow,  all  ye  Winds,  from  ev'ry  place, 

And  breathe  the  final  Storm. 
XII. 
O  JESUS,  haste  the  Glorious  Day, 

When  thou  shalt  come  in  Flame, 
And  bum  the  Earth,  and  waste  the  Sea, 

And  break  all  Natiu-e's  Frame. 

xni. 

Come  quickly.  Blessed  Hope  !  appear. 

Bid  thy  swift  Chariot  fly ; 
Let  Angels  tell  thy  coming  near. 

And  snatch  me  to  the  sky. 
XIV. 
Around  thy  wheels,  in  the  glad  Throng, 

I  'd  bear  a  joyful  part ; 


104  NEW-ENGLAND    WEEKLY    JOURNAL. 

All  Hallelujah  on  my  Tongue, 
All  Rapture  in  my  Heart. 

Six  Stanzas  of  this  poem  are  introduced  by  Dr.  Bel- 
knap into  his  collection  of  "  Sacred  Poetry,"  and  are 
there  attributed  to  Dr.  Byles  as  the  author. 

There  is  one  Poem  inserted  among  these  papers  which 
is  announced  as  the  production  of  "  Mr.  Byles."  It  is 
"  on  the  Death  of  King  George  I.,  and  Accession  of 
King  George  II."  It  is  a  pretty  good  specimen  of  the 
style  of  "  Mr.  Brimstone,"  which  had  been  ridiculed  in 
a  previous  paper.  After  a  column  of  most  extravagant 
personal  compliment,  and  inflated  description  of  the  con- 
dition of  England  under  the  reign  of  the  first  George, 
the  Poet  exclaims  — 

But  Oh  !  at  once  the  heav'nly  scenes  decay, 
And  all  the  gaudy  visions  fade  away  ; 
He  dies  —  my  muse,  the  dismal  sound  forbear ; 
In  ev'iy  eye  debates  the  falling  tear ; 
A  thousand  passions  o'er  my  bosom  roll, 
Swell  in  my  heart,  and  shock  my  inmost  soul : 
He  dies  —  Let  nature  o\vn  the  direful  blow. 
Sigh,  all  ye  winds  ;  with  tears  ye  rivers  flow ; 
Let  the  wide  ocean,  loud  in  anguish,  roar ; 
And  tides  of  grief  pour  plenteous  on  the  shore  ; 
No  more  the  spring  shall  bloom  or  morning  rise. 
But  night  eternal  \\Tap  the  sable  skies. 

Yet  the  spring  did  bloom,  and  the  morning  did  rise ; 

for    the    Poet,  after  a  transition  of  six  lines    declares, 

"The  Jirst  revives   within    the    second   George,"    and 

adds  — 

Ev'n  our  for  shores  confess  the  high  delight. 
Where  the  faint  sun  rolls  down  the  golden  light ; 
The  daring  billows  leap  along  the  main. 
Proud  of  the  extent  of  George's  happy  reign  ; 
Applauding  thunders  shake  the  air  around. 
Waves  shout  to  waves,  and  rocks  to  rocks  resound ; 


SAMUEL    KNEELAND.  105 

Each  human  breast  glows  with  resistless  fire, 
And  ev'ry  Angel  strikes  his  sounding  lyre. 

O  live,  auspicious  Priuce,  live  radiant  Queen, 
Long  lot  your  influence  gild  the  glorious  scene, 
And  your  fair  Offspring,  form VI  for  high  command, 
Flomish,  ye  blooming  Honours  of  the  land : 
But  when  from  the  dim  courts  below  you  fly. 
To  the  bright  regions  of  the  upper  sky. 
Where  ti-ees  of  life  by  living  riv'lets  teem 
Wave  tlieir  tall  heads,  and  paint  the  ninning  stream 
May  round  your  heads  crowns  flash,  celestial,  bright,  * 

In  another  essay,  (No.  xxxiii.)  there  is  a  paraphrase 

of  the    Hundred  and    Fourth    Psalm,  in  heroic  verse, 

which  is  rather  dull  and  prosaic,  though  the  versification 

is  smoothe  and  not  ungraceful.     The  following  are  the 

concluding  lines :  — 

Jov'ful,  my  GOD,  my  pious  Song  I  '11  raise. 

Whilst  vital  Spirits  down  their  circling  maze. 

To  thee  I  '11  sing,  till  to  the  Eealnis  of  Light 

INIy  Soul  mth  -winged  speed  du-ects  her  flight. 

There  shall  my  Raptures  no  deception  know, 

But  to  duration's  endless  Ages  glow. 

Mean  time  my  GOD  shall  every  Thought  employ. 

My  sorrow  sweeten,  and  inspire  my  joy. 

"WTiilst  on  the  Wicked  His  Almighty  ire 

Shall  rain  a  deluge  of  consuming  fire  ; 

My  Soul  thy  Name  with  mmost  ardour  bless, 

You  num'rous  Worlds  your  grateful  Songs  express  ! 

Several  of  these  essays  were  republished  in  1807  and 
1808,  in  the  Emerald,  a  literary  paper,  published  in 
Boston.  In  placing  the  first  number  before  the  readers 
of  the  Emerald,  the  editor  said,  —  "  If  the  appetites  of 
general  readers  be  not  entirely  vitiated  by  the  literary 
whip-syllabub,  which  is  served  up  in  the  trash  publica- 
tions of  the  present  time,  they  must  relish  the  solid  fare, 
on  which  our  ancestors  regaled."     In  a  subsequent  pa- 

_*  Three  lines  are  here  nearly  obliterated  from  the  Journal. 


106  NEW-ENGLAND    WEEKLY    JOURNAL. 

per,  the  editor  remarked  of  these  essays  — "  They 
appear  to  have  been  extremely  popular,  when  first  pub- 
lished, and  we  should  be  proud,  at  this  day,  of  being,  in 
the  least  degree,  instrumental  in  arresting  their  jlight  to 
the  gulph  of  oblivion.  They  carry  internal  evidence  to 
prove  themselves  the  production  of  some  well  bred 
scholar,  whether  of  Oxford  or  Cambridge  is  of  little 
moment.  Some  of  them  are  not  inferior  to  the  numbers 
of  the  Spectator  ;  and  their  writer  seems  to  follow,  and 
not  sub  longo  intervallo,  the  footsteps  of  Addison.  * 
#  *  #  'pi^g  extensive  familiarity  with  classical  litera- 
ture, which  these  productions  discover,  is  perhaps  such 
as  to  render  it  highly  probable,  that  they  originated  with 
some  English  gentleman  of  education,  then  resident  here. 
The  diction  is  pure,  the  humor  chaste,  and  the  morality 
sound." 

In  the  seventy-first  number  of  the  Journal  there  is  a 
"  Congratulatory  Poem,"  addressed  to  Governor  Burnet, 
who  had  then  just  taken  possession  6f  the  government  of 
Massachusetts,  by  appointment  from  the  king  of  Great- 
Britain.  It  is  highly  charged  with  adulation,  and  con- 
tains more  flattery  than  poetry.     For  example,  — 

But  now,  O  Massachusetts,  now  rejoice  ! 
And  Thou,  blest  Boston,  lift  thy  cheerful  Voice  ! 
For  he,  who  long  before  had  fill'd  our  Hearts, 
Now  to  our  longing  Eyes  Himself  imparts  : 
He,  he  is  come  to  be  our  Country's  Prop ; 
Greater  than  Fame,  and  better  far  than  Hope. 
***** 

While  tender  Infants  smile  to  see  his  Face, 
The  Aged  gravely  celebrate  his  Praise. 
Transports  and  Joys  shine  in  each  Face  confest, 
While  Expectation  fdls  each  heaving  Breast. 
But  while  Priest,  Senate,  and  the  Throng  express 
United  Joy,  great  Sir,  can  we  do  less  ? 


SAMUEL    KNEELAND. 


107 


From  Castle  Williiim  then  a  welcome  take  : 
'Tis  giv'n  !  —  what  Noise  our  thundring  Cannons  make ! 
'Tis  nought !  —  For  should  we  forth  our  Raptures  sing, 
Wide  round  the  World  the  vast  Report  would  ring. 

The  readers  of  the  History  of  Massachusetts,  will  not 
need  to  be  informed  that  Governor  Burnet  did  not  quite 
accomplish  all  the  anticipations  of  the  Poet.  He  began 
his  administration  by  quarreling  with  the  Representatives 
of  the  People,  and  closed  it  at  his  death,  with  no  testi- 
monials of  their  love  or  respect.  The  poem  was  un- 
doubtedly written  by  Dr.  Byles. 

In  January,  1729,  —  the  third  year  of  its  existence, 
—  the  Journal  was  supplied  with  another  series  of  ori- 
ginal essays,  which  extended  to  eighteen  numbers.  Mr. 
Thomas  says,  they  "  were  supposed  by  some  to  have 
been  principally  composed  by  Governor  Burnet ;  as  they 
began  the  January  after  his  arrival  at  Boston,  and  ceased 
a  kw  weeks  before  his  death."  These  essays  are  writ- 
ten in  a  good  style,  and  may  properly  claim  the  charac- 
ter of  "  moral  and  entertaining,"  but  they  want  the 
attractive  sprightliness  that  gave  popularity  to  those  of 
Proteus  Echo. 

About  the  close  of  the  year  1741,  this  paper  was 
incorporated  with  the  Boston  Gazette,  and  published  by 
Kneeland  &  Green,  under  the  title  of  the  "  Boston 
Gazette  and  Weekly  Journal."  The  publication  was 
discontinued  in  1752,  —  twenty-five  years  after  the  first 
publication  of  the  Journal.* 

In  the  Journal  of  January  8,  1728,  is  the  following 
account  of  the  celebration  of  the  king's  birth-day  at 
Bath,  England  :  — 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  Bells  stiaick  out,  a  Bonfire  was 
*  See  p.  46. 


108  NEW-ENGLAND    WEEKLY    JOURNAL. 

lighted,  and  a  vrhole  Ox  set  a  roastinfr,  with  a  Quantity  of  Liquor,  and 
Huzza's  to  His  Majesty's  Health :  At  6  the  Drums!  beat  the  Young 
Gentlemen  Voluntiers  to  arms ;  by  8  one  Hundred  and  Sixty  assem- 
bled themselves  together  at  the  Colonel's  House  ;  by  10  they  were  ready 
to  march,  but  first  every  man  drank  a  Glass  of  Brandy  to  his  Majesty's 
Health ;  the  officers  were  extreamly  rich  in  their  Apparel,  Velvet, 
Embroidery,  Gold  and  Silver  Lace  ;  the  men  with  fine  Caps,  Cockades, 
Holland  Shirts,  Silver  and  Gold  Ribbons,  Shoulder-Knots,  fine  Scarlet 
Cloth  Breeches  richly  laid,  white  Stockings,  red  Tops  to  their  Shoes  ; 
the  Slings  to  their  Pieces  had  this  Motto,  God  save  King  George  the 
Second:  By  12  they  marched  through  the  best  part  of  the  Town,  with 
two  Sword-Bearers,  a  Sett  of  Moms-Dancers,  and  Martial  Musick  be- 
fore them  ;  then  came  to  the  Market-Place,  where  they  drew  up  in  order 
for  Fire ;  Wine  was  brought,  and  every  Officer  charg'd  bis  Glass  ;  the 
King,  Queen  and  Koyal  Family  went  round  distinct,  with  a  Volley  at 
each  health;  the  Glasses  were  thrown  over  their  Heads,  and  in  other 
Parts  of  the  Town  they  did  the  same ;  then  Captain  Goulding  repeated 
this  Verse  Ex  tempore : 

In  spite  of  Legions  of  Infernal  Devils  bdow, 

To  y  Powers  above,  Supream  Divine, 
Let  Gtonje  in  the  Center  our  Standard  be, 
A  nd  his  Queen  tfte  Great  Caroline. 
One  Colonel  Edward  Collins  that  keeps  the  "White  Hart  Inn,  &  Capt. 
Thomas  Goulding  Jeweller  in  the  Walks,  Capt  James  Warriner  Book- 
seller in  the  Walks,  Lieut.  Collins  Wallen,  Draper  in  the  Church- Yard 
Lieut.  Taylor  Sword-Cutler  in  the  Church- Yard,  and  three  more  young 
Gentlemen  of  the  To^\'n-Officers,  which  makes  8  in  number,  that  gave 
the  Ox  and  all  the  Charges  thereto :  They  drew  to  the  Beef  when 
roasting,  with  Handfuls  of  Silver  each  Officer,  and  obliged  the  Cook  to 
stuiT  it  into  the  Shoulders  and  Keck ;  and  Capt.  Goulding,  Jeweller, 
stuffed  above  an  Hundred  true  Stones  into  the  Buttocks  of  the  Ox, 
several  Diamonds,  Rubies,  Saphires,  Emeralds,  Garnets,  Ametthysts 
and  Topasscs.  At  two  the  Ox  was  ready  brought  to  the  Table,  put 
into  a  Dish  1 2  Foot  long  and  6  wide,  made  on  purpose :  They  din'd 
in  the  public  Market-House ;  but  tlie  Stuffing  made  the  Mob  so  furious 
that  thev  flung  themselves  over  the  Heads  of  the  Officers,  into  the  Dish 
and  stood  over  their  Shoes  in  Gravy,  and  one  was  stuff 'd  into  the  Belly 
of  the  Ox,  and  almost  stifled  with  Heat  and  Fat ;  the  Grease  flew  about 
to  that  Degree,  whi(;h  made  the  Officers  quit  the  Table,  or  all  their 
Cloaths  must  have  been  spoil'd ;  tlicy  stopt  and  look'd  on  their  Pro- 
ceedings till  Three,  then  they  all  march'd  to  the  Colonel's,  and  staid  till 
Four ;  they  went  out  again  on  then-  Procession ;  at  Five  the  Candles 


MATHER    BYLES.  109 

began  to  light ;  at  6  the  Town  was  ilhiminated ;  they  beat  into  the 
Coloners  Quarters  near  Seven,  witli  Huzzas,  King  George  /or  Ever! 
where  there  was  great  Quantities  of  AVine  and  Beer  drank  to  his 
Majest3''s  Health,  and  all  his  loving  Subjects  in  his  extended  Domin- 
ions ;  at  Eleven  the  Drums  beat  Go  to  Bed  Tom,  and  all  departed  in 
Peace  after  Pleasure. 

Of  the  Rev.  Mather  Byles,  one  of  the  most  prolific 
writers  for  the  Journal,  the  history  is  generally  known. 
He  was  born  in  Boston,  March  26,  1706.  His  father 
was  an  English  emigrant,  and  died  soon  after  the  birth  of 
the  son.  His  mother  was  the  daughter  of  the  Rev.  In- 
crease Mather.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  in 
1725,  and  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  church  in  Hollis- 
street,  Boston,  December  20,  1733.  He  was  strongly 
attached  to  the  royal  government,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Revolution,  on  which  account  he  was  separated  from  his 
pastoral  charge,  in  1776.  In  May,  1777,  he  was  form- 
ally denounced,  in  town-meeting,  as  a  Tory,  and  was 
obliged  to  enter  into  bonds  to  appear  at  a  public  trial. 
He  was  pronounced  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  confinement 
on  board  a  guard-ship,  and,  with  his  family,  to  be  sent  to 
England  ;  but  this  sentence,  —  at  least,  the  latter  part  of 
it,  —  was  not  executed.  He  died  in  1783,  of  a  paralysis, 
which  had  afflicted  him  for  some  years.  He  made  great 
pretensions  to  the  character  of  a  wit,  and  almost  innu- 
merable puns  have  been  attributed  to  him.  His  literary 
talents  gained  him  some  reputation  in  England.  That 
he  understood  the  arts  of  flattery  is  evident  from  the  fol- 
lowing letter :  — 

To  Mr.  ALEXANDER  POPE. 

New-England,  Boston,  Oct.  7,  1727. 
Sir, 

You  are  doubtless  wondering  at  the  novelty  of  an  epistle  from 

the  remote  shores  where  this  dates  its  origin  ;  as  well  as  from  so  obscure 
a  hand  as  that  which  subscribes  it.    But  what  corner  of  the  earth  so 
VOL.    I.  10 


]  10  NEW-ENGLAND    WEEKLY    JOURNAL. 

secret,  as  not  to  have  heard  the  fame  of  Mi-.  Pope  ?  Or  who  so  retired 
as  not  to  be  acquainted  with  his  admirable  compositions,  or  so  stupid  as 
not  to  be  ravished  with  them  1 

Fame,  after  a  man  is  dead,  has  been  by  some  ingenious  writers  com- 
pared to  an  applause  in  some  distant  region.  If  this  be  a  just  smiili- 
tude,  you  may  take  the  pleasure  of  an  admired  name  in  America,  and 
of  spreading  a  transport  over  the  face  of  a  Xcw  World  :  By  which  you 
may,  in  some  measure,  imagine  the  renown,  in  which  your  name  will 
flourish  many  ages  to  come,  and  anticipate  a  thousand  years  of  futurity. 

To  let  you  see  a  little  of  the  reputation  which  you  bear  in  these  un- 
known climates,  and  the  improvements  we  are  making  under  your 
auspicious  influences,  in  the  polite  studies  of  tbe  ]\luses,  I  transmit  to 
you  the  enclosed  Poems :  Assuring  myself,  though  not  of  the  appro- 
bation of  your  judgement,  yet  of  the  excuse  and  lenity  of  that  candor 
which  is  for  ever  inseparable  from  a  gi'cat  genius.  But  notwitlistanding 
all  these  representations  of  your  goodness,  which  my  imagination  is 
able  to  form,  I  find  it  very  difficult  to  suppress  the  struggle  of  passions 
which  swells  my  breast,  while  I  am  writing  a  letter  to  so  great  a  man. 
I  am  at  once  urged  by  a  generous  ambition  to  be  known  to  you ;  and 
forbid  by  a  trembling  consciousness  of  my  own  un worthiness  and  ob- 
scurity Prompted  by  desire,  flushed  with  hope,  or  appalled  with  con- 
cern, I  add  to  tbe  incorrectness  which  1  would  now  most  of  all  wish  to 
escape.  In  sliort,  Sir,  when  I  approach  you  it  is  with  a  real  awe  and 
reverence,  like  that,  which  you  have  so  humorously  described  in  the 
Guardian  upon  dedications. 

How  often  have  I  been  soothed  and  charmed  \dth  the  ever  blooming 
landscapes  of  your  Windsor  Forest  ?  And  how  docs  my  very  soul 
melt  away,  at  the  soft  complaint  of  the  languishing  Eloisa  1  How  fre- 
quently has  the  Pape  of  the  Lock  commanded  the  various  passions  of 
my  mind :  Provoked  laughter ;  breathed  a  tranquillity ;  or  inspired  a 
transport !  And  how  often  have  I  been  raised,  and  borne  away  by  the 
resistless  fire  of  the  Iliad,  as  it  glows  in  your  immortal  translation  ! 

Permit  me.  Sir,  to  conclude  my  letter  with  asking  the  favor  of  a  few 
lines  from  the  hand  which  has  blest  the  world  with  sui:h  divine  produc- 
tions. If  you  thus  honor  me,  assure  yourself  the  joys  you  will  produce 
in  me,  will  be  inferior  to  none  but  the  poetic  rapture  of  your  own 
breast.  Perhaps  you  will  be  disposed  to  WTite,  when  I  confess,  that  I 
have-  a  more  superstitious  ardor  to  see  a  word  written  by  your  pen, 
than  ever  Tom  Folio  in  the  Tatler,  to  see  a  simile  of  Vii'gil  with  that 
advantage. 

I  am,  Sir,  your  great  admirer,  and 

most  obedient  humble  Sei-vant,  JIatheb  Byles. 


THOMAS    PRINCE.  1  I  1 

To  this  letter,  Pope  wrote  an  answer,  composed  in 
terms  of  extravagant  compliment,  which  Byles  was  fond 
of  exhibiting  on  every  practicable  occasion.  Among 
other  ironical  expressions,  Pope  said,  it  had  been  long 
supposed  that  the  Muses  had  deserted  the  British  empire, 
but  the  reception  of  this  book  of  Poems  had  relieved 
him  of  his  sorrow,  for  it  was  evident  they  had  only  emi- 
grated to  the  colonies.* 

The  Rev,  Thomas  Prince  is  supposed  to  have  been  a 
contributor  to  the  Journal,  and  to  have  given  efficient 
aid  to  the  publisher  by  enlightened  and  friendly  counsel. 
This  gentleman  was  a  native  of  Middleborough,  in  the 
county  of  Plymouth.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard 
College.  Having  spent  several  years  in  traveling  in 
Europe,  he  arrived  in  Boston,  in  1717,  and  was,  the 
next  year,  ordained  pastor  of  the  Old  South  Church. 
He  published  a  great  number  of  sermons  and  tracts,  but 
is  now  chiefly  known  by  his  Chronological  History  of 
New-England,  —  a  work  of  great  value,  as  far  as  it  was 
completed,  which  was  brought  down  only  to  1633.  He 
was  an  ardent  friend  and  zealous  supporter  of  the  Rev. 
George  Whitefield.  He  died  October  22,  1758,  in  the 
seventy-second  year  of  his  age. 

*  1  his  anecdote  I  had  fioin  the  Rev,  John  Eliot,  U.  D. 


THE  WEEKLY  REIIEAKSAL. 


This  was  the  fifth  newspaper  established  in  Boston. 
The  first  number  of  it  was  published  on  Monday,  Sep- 
tember 27,  173 1 ,  "  by  J,  Draper,  for  the  author."  *  Its 
author  was  Jeremy  [or  Jeremiah]  Gridley,  a  young  man 
of  fine  literary  acquirements.  "  For  the  first  six  weeks, 
mottoes  in  Latin,  from  the  classics,  were  inserted  after 
the  title,"  and  every  succeeding  paper  had  anew  motto. 
*'  For  the  first  six  months,  with  very  few  exceptions,  a 
moral  or  entertaining  essay  was  weekly  published,  which 
usually  filled  more  than  half  the  paper."  f  These  were 
mostly  original,  and  were  supposed  to  be  the  productions 
of  Gridley  alone.  The  following  modest  introductory 
article  fills  the  entire  first  page  of  the  first  paper:  — 

Tlicrc  is  nothing  of  greater  (lisscrvicc  to  any  writer,  than  to  appear 
in  public  under  too  forward  and  sanguine  an  expectation  :  For  either 
he  must  elevate  himself  to  the  fondness  of  his  reader's  fancy,  or  both 
of  tliem  are  respectively  dissatisfied,  —  the  reader  by  a  disappointment, 
and  the  writer  by  a  cold  reception.     To  pi'evcnt  therefore  any  incon- 

*In  most  of  the  newspapers  printed  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  the 
word ''author "  was  used  to  de^:ignate  the  editor  ox  publisher.  All  communica- 
tions are  addressed  "To  the  author  of  the  Courant,"  —  "  To  the  author  of  the 
Behearsal,"  &.c. 

t  Thomas's  History  of  Printing. 


JEREMY    GRIDLEY.  tt$ 

venience  of  this  nature,  I  shall  here  enter  into  the  design  of  the  present 
undertaking,  and  delineate  the  idea  I  would  have  eveiy  reader  conceive 
of  it. 

As  to  the  reasons  that  have  engaged  me  in  it,  several  I  find  have 
been  assigned,  all  which  I  leave  in  the  same  uncertainty  and  suspense, 
since  there  is  no  necessity  of  declai'ing  upon  motives,  where  the  pro- 
duction is  to  be  useful  or  entertaining.  And  to  be  so  as  far  as  possible 
is  the  professed  intention  of  this  paper;  an  intention  that  takes  in  a 
wide  extent  and  variety  of  subjects.  For  what  is  there  either  in  Art, 
or  Nature,  or  History,  not  to  be  accommodated  in  this  view  1  The 
minutest  things,  wlien  set  in  a  due  light,  and  represented  in  apt  words, 
will  divert,  and  the  greatest  are  entertaining  of  themselves.  The  na- 
ture of  this  design  then  is  confined  to  no  particular  argument,  and  in 
fact  will  be  circumscribed  by  nothing  but  discretion,  duty,  and  good 
manners.  These  are  the  fences  and  boundaries  I  would  think  myself 
obliged  never  to  transgress  ;  for  liowever  uneasy  a  dissolute  and  licen- 
tious pen  might  be  under  these  limitations,  yet  without  them  there  is 
certainly  no  real  pleasure  in  any  action  of  life,  and  with  them  there  is 
room  for  the  widest  range  of  thought,  and  the  freest  excursions  of 
fancy.  Room  enough,  every  one  will  be  ready  to  admit,  but  where 
shall  we  find  the  powers  to  traverse  and  cultivate  it  ?  Where  the  man 
equal  to  it  ?  This  is  a  hard,  unnecessary  question.  I  need  not  go  veiy 
far  to  say  where  he  is  not,  neither  is  there  any  need  of  proceeding 
farther  to  show  where  he  is.  Tor  without  any  pretensions  to  genius,  or 
universal  capacity,  an  inditFerent  hand  may  be  allowed,  once  in  seven 
days,  to  publish  a  Rehearsal,  and  perhaps  to  entertain.  A  Rehearsal, 
what  can  we  suppose  it,  but  in  the  general  course  to  be  derivative "?  and 
what  an  infinity  of  sources  have  we  to  derive  from  ?  The  ancient  are 
yet  living,  and  many  of  these  later  ages  will  forever  live  with  them. 
They  are  too  pure  to  displease,  too  numerous  to  fail  us.  And  is  it  im- 
possible for  an  industrious  hand  to  give  them  a  different  course?  May 
he  not  be  useful  to  the  pulilic,  by  directing  them  where  they  will  be 
valued,  and  where  otherwise  perhaps  they  would  not  have  been  en- 
joyed 1  This  is  all  the  vanity  that  can  be  imputed  to  the  publisher  of 
a  Rehearsal ;  for  as  the  paper  takes  its  name,  the  readers  should  form 
their  opinion  from  the  general  design.  I  am  well  aware  of  the  exceed- 
ing and  almost  insuperable  difficulty  of  being  an  origiiuxl  in  this  know- 
ing and  polite  age ;  for  besides  the  fertile  comprehensive  genius  that 
Nature  must  bestow,  how  many  other  quahties  are  requisite  to  form  a 
good  and  just  writer  ?  Easiness  of  mind  and  a  competent  fortune  are 
indispensably  necessary;  for  how  can  wit  and  humor  be  employed  by  a 
man  in  want '?  How  can  the  an-angemcnt  of  ideas  be  attended  to  by 
10* 


114  WEEKLY    REHEARSAL. 

him  whose  aflFairs  are  in  confusion  ?  Travel  and  the  most  refined  con- 
vei-sation  are  to  be  added  to  these  accomplishments :  And  beyond  these, 
it  were  easy  to  select  many  others,  that  enter  the  character  of  an  original 
author,  and  discountenance  those  who  want  them  from  any  pretences 
to  it.  I  would  therefore  decline  this  path,  and  presume  no  farther  than 
Mr.  Locke  hiis  suggested  every  man  may,  without  any  the  least  imputa- 
tion of  vanity.  "Since  no  one  (says  that  great  author)  sees  all,  and 
wc  generally  have  different  prospects  of  the  same  things,  according  to 
our  (lirterent  positions  to  it.  —  it  is  not  incongruous  to  think,  nor  be- 
neatli  any  man  to  try,  whether  another  may  not  have  notions  of  things, 
which  have  escaped  him,  and  which  his  reason  would  make  use  of,  if 
they  come  into  his  mind."  These  views  and  attributes  wc  apprehend 
things  in,  are  infinitely  diversified  by  the  particular  circumstances  of 
persons.  And  there  is,  I  am  persuaded,  scarce  any  man  of  the  least 
obsei-^-ation  and  remark,  who  has  not  been  entertained  with  appropriate 
cast  of  thought,  and  turn  of  humor,  even  where  he  least  exj)ected  it. 
Should  I  ever,  therefore,  even  venture  beyond  the  limits  of  a  Jichcdrsal, 
this  would  be  my  plea  and  vindication :  and  should  I  fail  in  the  at- 
tempt, what  a  great  pleivsure  and  obligation  would  it  be,  for  some  of 
mv  better  readers  to  imitate  the  examj)lc  of  the  Oxford  scholar,  who, 
although  he  had  acquired  an  excellent  hand  at  music,  yet  afterwards, 
falling  into  melancholy,  grew  averse  to  it,  and  would  not  be  prevailed 
upon  by  his  friends  to  touch  it.  They  had  but  one  way  to  excite  him, 
and  that,  for  some  unskillful  hand  to  take  his  violin  and  scrape  u]>on 
it.  He  would  then  immediately  snatch  it  from  him,  and  in  a  kind  of 
resentment,  give  it  the  utmost  elegance  of  sound  and  harmony. 

A\1iat  has  been  hitherto  said,  considers  this  paper  only  in  the  essay- 
kind  and  a  speculative  view ;  which  is  but  one  half  the  design.  For  it 
is  intended  to  be  a  narrative  of  whatever  shall  occur  in  Commerce  in 
the  Civil  or  Learned  World,  as  far  as  it  deserves  our  attention,  and 
comes  within  notice.  It  will  be  the  endeavor  of  the  publisher  to  pro- 
cure the  best  intelligence,  and  to  digest  it  in  the  most  suitable  method. 
He  would  aim  to  give  this  sheet  all  the  variety  and  aspects  it  is  capa- 
ble of  receiving;  for,  upon  looking  over  a  Ust  of  the  subscribers,  he 
finds  names  of  every  quality,  and  presumes  there  are  tastes  of  every 
degree  to  be  pleased.  He  owns  himself  under  indelible  obligations  to 
the  gentlemen  that  have  advanced  and  favored  the  design,  and  would 
not  question  their  continuance,  till  it  desen'cs  their  discsteem,  and  be- 
comes an  opiate,  by  having  too  great  an  infusion  of  the  poppy. 

Some  of  the  essays  in  tlie  succeeding  numbers  of  the 
Rehearsal  are  written  with  ease  and  sprighthness,  and 


JEREMY    GRIDLET.  115 

are  good  specimens  of  the  kind  of  writing  that  was 
made  popular  by  the  influence  of  the  Tattler,  Guardian, 
and  Spectator.  It  is  not,  however,  always  easy  to  dis- 
tinguish the  original  pieces  from  those  that  are  selected. 
Many  of  them  bear  so  near  a  resemblance  in  style  and 
structure  to  those  of  Steele  and  Addison,  as  to  lead  the 
reader,  at  first  view,  to  think  he  has  seen  them  before. 
Here  is  a  part  of  a  paper  on  the  prevailing  fashions, 
which  seemed  familiar  to  the  ear  when  first  read,  but  I 
am  not  able  to  decide  upon  its  originality  :  — 

The  love  of  novelty  is  the  parent  of  Fashion,  and  as  the  fancy  sick- 
ens with  one  image,  it  longs  for  another.  This  is  the  cause  of  the 
continued  revolutions  of  habit  and  behavior,  and  why  we  are  so  indus- 
trious in  pursuing  the  change.  This  makes  Fashion  so  universally  fol- 
lowed, and  is  the  true  reason  why  the  awkwardest  peojile  are  as  fond 
of  this  folly  as  the  genteelest,  who  give  a  grace  to  every  thing  they 
wear.  .  .  .  'Tis  plain  that  every  novelty  is  not  beauty,  and  that  it  re- 
quires great  elegance  of  taste  and  truth  of  judgement  to  determine  the 
modes  of  dress ;  that  every  one  should  consult  the  particular  turn  of 
their  own  manner  in  their  choice,  and  be  well  convinced  of  its  pro- 
priety before  they  ventured  to  set  the  world  an  example.  But,  as  this 
is  very  seldom  found,  I  shall  content  myself  with  recommending  it 
only,  and  make  the  present  entertainment  a  mere  register-  of  the  fash- 
ions that  are,  by  turns,  in  vogue,  with  a  hint  or  two  at  the  characters  of 
the  in  venters. 

I  shall  not  busy  myself  with  the  ladies'  shoes  and  stockings  at  all ; 
but  I  can't  so  easily  pass  over  the  Hoop,  when  'tis  in  my  way,  and 
therefore  I  must  beg  pardon  of  my  fair  readers,  if  I  begin  my  attack 
here.  'Tis  now  some  years  since  this  remarkable  fashion  made  a  figure 
in  the  world,  and  from  its  first  begiiming  divided  the  public  opinion  as 
to  its  convenience  and  beauty.  For  my  part,  I  was  always  willing  to 
indulge  it,  under  some  restrictions  :  that  is  to  say,  if  'tis  not  a  rival  to 
the  dome  of  St.  Paul's,  to  incumber  the  way,  or  a  tub  for  the  residence 
of  a  new  Diogenes :  if  it  does  not  eclipse  too  much  beauty  above,  or 
discover  too  much  below.  In  short,  I  am  for  living  in  peace,  and  I  am 
afraid  a  fine  lady,  with  too  much  liberty  in  this  particular,  would  ren- 
der my  own  imagination  an  enemy  to  my  repose. 

*  *  *  #  * 

The  Farthingale,  according  to  several  paintings,  and  even  history 


116  WEEKLY    REHEARSAL. 

itself,  is  as  old  as  Queen  Elizabeth  of  blessed  memory,  though  'tis 
impossible  it  had  its  original  in  the  same  manner  ■with  the  Hoop 
and  was  worn  as  universally ;  but  the  prudes  of  our  days  revived  it  in 
stark  opposition  to  that  fashion,  and  lioastcd  that  while  they  were  in  that 
circle  they  were  secure  from  temptation ;  nay  some  of  them  have  pre- 
sumed to  say  it  gave  them  all  the  chastity  of  that  heroic  Princess,  who 
died  as  she  had  lived,  a  Virgin,  after  so  many  years  of  trial. 

The  Stay  is  a  part  of  modern  dress  that  1  have  an  invincible  aver- 
sion to,  as  giving  a  stiffness  to  the  whole  frame,  which  is  void  of  all 
grace,  and  an  enemy  to  beauty  ;  but  as  I  would  not  ofi'end  the  ladies  by 
absolutely  condemning  what  they  are  fond  of,  I'll  recall  m}'  censure, 
and  only  observe  that  this  female  armor  is  changing  mode  continually, 
and  favors  or  distresses  the  enemy  according  to  the  humor  of  the 
wearer;  sometimes  the  Stomacher  almost  rises  to  the  chin,  and  a  Mod- 
esty-Bit serves  the  purpose  of  a  ruff";  at  other  times  'tis  so  complaisant 
as  not  to  reach  half  way,  and  the  Modesty  is  but  a  transparent  show  to 
the  beauties  underneath  ;  the  first  may  give  passion  too  great  a  license, 
and  the  last  may  be  an  injury  to  nature ;  for  which  reason  I  recommend 
a  medium.  Coquettes  are  the  encouragers  of  one  and  Prudes  of  the 
other. 

******** 

I  have  no  objections  to  make  to  the  Tippet ;  it  may  be  made  an  ele- 
gant and  beautiful  ornament.  In  winter  the  sable  is  wonderfully 
graceful  and  a  fine  help  to  the  complexion  ;  in  summer  the  colors  and 
compositions  are  to  be  adapted  with  judgement,  neither  dull  without 
fancy,  nor  gaudy  without  beauty.  I  have  seen  too  many  of  the  last, 
but,  as  I  believe  them  to  be  the  first  trial  of  a  child's  genius  in  such 
performances,  I  only  give  this  hint  for  their  amendments 

As  the  Breast  Knot  allows  a  good  deal  of  ingenuity  in  the  delicate 
choice  of  colors  and  disposition  of  figure,  I  think  it  may  be  indulged, 
but  very  sparingly,  and  rather  with  a  negligence  than  the  lea.st  affecta- 
tion. It  seems  there  is  a  fashion  even  in  the  colors  of  ribands,  and  I 
have  observed  a  beautiful  purple  to  be  lately  the  general  mode;  but 
'tis  not  the  beauty  of  the  color  that  recommends  it  so  much  as  the  sym- 
bol it  is  said  to  bear. 

I  come  now  to  the  TIead-Lh-ess,  the  vciy  highest  point  of  female  ele- 
gance ;  and  here  I  find  such  a  variety  of  modes,  such  a  medley  of 
decoration,  that  'tis  hard  to  know  where  to  fix;  lace  and  cambrick, 
gauze  and  fringe,  feathers  and  ribands,  create  such  a  confusion,  occa- 
sion such  frequent  changes,  that  it  defies  art,  judgement,  or  taste,  to 
recommend  them  to  any  standard,  or  reduce  them  to  any  order.  That 
ornament  of  the  hair,  which  is  styled  the  Horns,  and  has  been  in  vogue 


JEREMY    GRIDLET.  117 

SO  long,  was  certainly  first  calculated  by  some  good-natured  lady  to  keep 
her  spouse  in  countenance. 

******** 

The  Hat  and  Peruke,  which  has  been  some  time  made  part  of  a 
lady's  riding  equipage,  is  such  an  odd  kind  of  affectation,  that  I  hardly 
know  under  what  species  to  range  it ;  'tis  such  an  enemy  to  female 
beauty,  'tis  so  foreign  to  every  amiable  grace,  it  adds  such  a  masculine 
fierceness  to  the  figure,  and  such  a  boldness  to  every  feature,  that 
neither  decency  nor  elegance  can  justify  it. 

The  Riding  Habit  simply,  with  the  black  velvet  cap  and  white 
feather,  is,  in  my  opinion,  the  most  elegant  dress  that  belongs  to  a 
lady's  wardrobe  ;  there  is  a  grace  and  gentility  in  it  that  all  other  dresses 
want ;  it  displays  the  shape  and  turn  of  the  body  to  great  advantage, 
and  betrays  a  negligence  that  is  perfectly  agreeable.  This  fashion  was 
certainly  invented  by  a  woman  of  taste,  and  I  am  pleased  to  see  the 
ladies  in  general  so  well  reconciled  to  it.  It  argues  something  like 
good  sense  in  their  choice  still  remaining,  and  she,  who  makes  her 
whole  actions  most  conformable  to  that  standard,  will  always  be  most 
secure  of  conquests  and  reputation. 

This  produced,  in  the  next  Rehearsal,  a  retort  from  a 

female  correspondent,  who  said  :  — 

You  seem  to  blame  us  for  our  innovations  and  fleeting  fixncy  in 
dress,  which  you  are  most  notoriously  guilty  of,  who  esteem  your  selves 
the  mighty,  wise,  and  head  of  the  species.  Therefore  I  think  it  highly 
necessary  that  you  show  us  the  example  first,  and  begin  the  reformation 
among  your  selves,  if  you  intend  your  observations  shall  have  any 
with  us.  I  leave  the  world  to  judge  whether  our  petticoat  resembles 
the  dome  of  St.  Paul's  nearer  than  you  in  your  long  coats  do  the  Mon- 
ument, or  (not  to  borrow  similes  from  abroad)  om-  Beacon.  You  com- 
plain of  our  masculine  appearance  in  our  riding  habit,  and  indeed  we 
think  it  is  but  i-easonable  that  we  should  make  reprisals  upon  you,  for 
the  invasion  of  our  dress  and  figure,  and  the  advances  you  make  in 
effeminacy,  and  your  degcncra<'y  from  the  figure  of  man.  Can  there 
be  a  more  ridiculous  appearance  than  to  see  a  smart  fellow  within  the 
compass  of  five  feet  immersed  in  a  huge  Jovg  coat  to  his  heels,  with  cuffs 
to  the  arm-pits,  the  shoulders  and  breast  fenced  against  the  inclemencies 
of  the  weather  (with  as  much  care  as  a  2vet  nurse)  by  a  monstrous  cape, 
or  rather  short  cloak,  shoe  toes  pointed  to  the  heavens  in  imitation  of  the 
Laplanders,  with  buckles  of  a  harness  size  ?  I  confess  the  Beaux  with 
their  toupee  wigs  make  us  extremely  merry ;  and  frequently  put  me  in 
mind  of  my  favorite  monkey,  both  in  figure  and  apishness,  and  were  it 


118  WEEKLY    REHEARSAL. 

not  for  a  reverse  of  circnmstance,  I  should  be  apt  to  mistake  it  for  Pug, 
and  treat  him  with  the  same  familiarity. 

The  essay  here  annexed  has  two  or  three  expressions, 
which  the  taste  of  the  present  age  may  condemn  as  in- 
deUcate,  but  I  have  presumed  to  transcribe  it  without 
abridgement :  — 

Naturam  expellas  furia  licet,  usque  recurret. 

Horace. 

There  is  an  old  Heathen  story,  that  I'romethcus,  who  was  a  potter 
in  Greece,  took  a  frolic  to  turn  all  the  clay  in  his  shop  into  men  and 
women,  separating  the  fine  from  the  coarse,  in  order  to  distinguish  the 
sexes.  The  males  were  formed  of  a  mixture,  blue  red,  as  heing  of  the 
toughest  consistence,  fitter  for  creatures  destined  for  hardships,  labor, 
and  difficult  entcrprizcs ;  the  females  were  moulded  out  of  the  most 
refined  stuff,  mucli  of  the  like  sul)stance  with  China  Ware,  transparent 
and  brittle,  designing  them  mostly  for  show  and  beauty.  By  the 
transparency  he  intended  the  men  might  see  so  plainly  through  them, 
that  they  should  not  be  capable  of  hypocrisy,  falsehood,  or  intrigue, 
and  by  their  brittleness  he  taught  them  they  were  to  be  handled  with  a 
tenderness  suitable  to  their  delicacy  of  constitution. 

It  was  pleasant  enough  to  see  with  what  contrivance  and  order  ho 
disposed  of  his  journeymen  in  their  several  apartments,  and  how 
judiciously  he  assigned  to  each  of  them  his  work,  according  to  his 
natural  capacity  and  talents,  so  that  evci-y  member  and  part  of  the  hu- 
man frame  was  finished  with  the  utmost  exactness  aud  beauty. 

In  one  chamber  j'ou  miglit  see  a  Ltg-shnper ;  in  another  a  Skull- 
roller;  in  a  third  an  Arm-stntchcr ;  in  a  fourth  a  Gut-winder;  for  each 
workman  was  distinguished  by  a  proper  term  of  art,  such  as  a  Knuckle- 
turner,  Tooth-  Grinder,  liih-coojier,  Muscle-maker,  Tendon-draicer,  Paunch- 
hlower,  Vein-hranchcr,  and  suchlike.  But  Prometheus  himself  xivaAg  the 
eyes,  the  ears,  and  the  heart;  which,  because  of  their  nice  and  intricate 
structure,  were  chief!)'  the  business  of  a  master-workman.  Besides  this, 
he  completed  the  whole  by  fitting  and  joining  the  several  parts  together 
according  to  the  best  symmetry  and  proportion.  The  statues  are  now 
upon  their  legs.  Life,  the  cliief  ingredient,  is  wanting.  Prometheus 
takes  a  ferula  in  his  hand,  (a  reed  of  the  island  of  Chios,  having  an  oil 
pith)  steals  up  the  back  stairs  to  Apollo's  lodgings,  lights  it  clandes- 
tinely at  the  chariot  of  the  Sun  ;  so  down  he  creeps  upon  his  tip-toes 
to  his  warehouse,  and,  in  a  very  few  minutes,  by  an  application  of  the 
flame  to  the  nostrils  of  his  clay  images,  sets  tliem  all  a  stalking  and 


JEREMY    GRIDLEY. 

Staring  throuf^li  one  another,  but  entirely  insensible  of  what  they  were 
doing.  They  looked  so  like  the  hitter  end  of  a  Lord  Mayor's  feast,  he 
could  not  bear  the  sight  of  them.  He  saw  it  was  absolutely  neeessary 
to  give  them  Paasions,  or  Life  would  be  an  insipid  thing :  and  so,  i'rom 
the  superabundance  of  them  in  otlicr  animals,  he  culls  out  enough  for 
his  purpose,  whicli  he  blended  and  tempered  so  well  before  infusion, 
that  his  men  and  women  became  the  most  amiable  creatures  that 
thought  can  conceive. 

Love  was  then  like  a  pure  vestal  flame,  not  made  up  of  sudden  joy, 
transports  and  extasies,  but  constant,  friendly,  and  benevolent. 

Anger  did  not  appear  homd  and  frightful  by  turbulent  emotions  of 
the  breast  and  distortions  of  the  face ;  but  preserved  a  dignity  of 
resentment  in  the  countenance,  commanding  a  reverential  awe  in  the 
otiender. 

Fear  did  not  in  the  least  encroach  upon  the  bounds  of  Fortitude,  by 
a  slavish  dejection  of  spirits,  nor  was  it  ever  seen  upon  any  occasion, 
but  as  a  monitor,  to  pi'event  the  doing  of  any  action,  wiiich  might  be 
attended  with  disgrace  or  repentance. 

In  the  same  manner  was  every  passion  and  appetite  under  the  best 
regulation  and  dominion  of  reason.  The  world  would  have  been  a 
most  delightful  scene,  had  people  continued  in  this  situation;  but,  alas! 
there  can  be  no  happiness  here  without  a  mixture  of  misery. 

Prometheus  is  apprehended  for  his  theft  and  presumption,  bound  fast 
in  chains  to  a  rock,  with  a  vulture  to  prey  upon  his  liver.  His  jour- 
neymen get  drunk  for  joy.  They  were  now  their  own  masters  ;  during 
which  interval  they  fall  to  man-and-woman-making,  with  excessive  pre- 
cipitation and  hurry.  Now  you  might  see  a  small  head  set  upon  a  pair 
of  broad  shoulders;  a  nose,  too  long,  too  short,  too  thick,  too  small,  or 
awry  on  the  face ;  a  large  heavy  carcase  reared  upon  a  small  ])air  of 
spindle  shanks,  by  which  means  they  become  bandy ;  a  long  chin  to  a 
short  face  ;  one  arm  longer  than  the  other ;  eyes  too  big  for  their  sock- 
ets ;  mouth  three  times  too  wide  or  too  narrow ;  every  part  and  limb 
almost  (;hosen  and  put  together  at  random.  But  to  conclude  the  farce, 
when  they  came  to  passion-work,  instead  of  blending  and  tempering 
them  in  true  proportion,  they  took  from  the  worst  of  animals,  simply 
and  by  guess.  To  one  was  given  the  rage,  and  fury  of  a  wolf;  hence 
came  a  most  virulent,  persecuting,  malicious  villain ;  from  whom  has  de- 
scended those  boisterous  and  outrageous  pests  of  society,  who  are  every 
day  disturbing  our  peace,  —  the  only  blessing  we  can  enjoy  upon  earth. 
To  another,  the  poison  and  rancor  of  a  toad  ;  from  whom  sprang  the 
revengeful,  who,  upon  the  least  touch  of  offence,  are  ever  upon  the 
watch,  to  ruin  the  inadvertent.     To  another,  the  subtlety  and  cunning 


120  WEEKLY    REHEARSAL. 

of  a  fox  ;  from  whom  wc  trace  the  politician,  who  turns  all  the  motions 
of  liis  soul  to  seducing,  betraying,  surprizing,  fair  proviisrs  with  foul 
intentions,  perpetual  stratagems  to  his  orvn  uclvantaqe,  i  iider  the  specious  ap- 
pearance of  the  public  good.  To  another,  the  alertnr  ss  of  a  monkey : 
He  begat  a  large  family  of  jibbers,  buHbons  and  mimics ;  these  are  a 
numerous  breed,  and  dispersed  over  the  face  of  the  whole  earth.  The 
chief  business  of  their  lives  is  to  make  people  laugh  at  one  another, 
and  not  to  spare  even  their  nearest  friends,  who,  while  they  are  copying 
the  imperfections  of  others,  come  to  be  originals.  You  may  distinguish 
this  happy  race  by  their  hawk-noses,  one  eye  less  than  t'other,  and  a 
pei-petual  sneer,  which,  by  repeated  habit,  becomes  inseparable  from 
their  faces.  To  another,  the  pride  of  a  peacock :  He  tm-ns  beau, 
stitches  all  the  tinsel  about  him  that  he  can,  hangs  a  tail  to  his  head, 
and  so  walks  through  the  world.  To  another,  the  gluttony,  laziness, 
and  luxury  of  a  hog :  From  him  descend  all  whose  chief  exercise  con- 
sists in  eating  and  drinking.  They  are  easily  distinguished  by  the 
plumpness  and  rotundity  of  their  dewlap,  and  torosity  of  their  necks  and 
breasts,  and  the  prominence  of  their  aMonen.  Numberless  are  the  in- 
stances that  might  be  given  of  the  predominance  of  brutes,  thus  occa- 
sioned in  men  ;  but  I  hasten  to  give  a  summary  account  of  the  animals 
chiefly  chosen  by  these  journeymen,  to  give  proper  accomplishments  to 
the  other  sex,  viz.  Cats,  Ferrets,  Wea.sels,  Vipers,  Magpies,  Geese, 
Wagtails,  Rats,  Stoats,  Rattle-snakes,  Wasps,  Hornets,  and  some  few 
others.  It  is  needless  to  infonn  the  reader  what  qualities  were  infused 
from  these,  when  he  can  behold  them  so  plainly  in  one  half  or  more  of 
Lis  female  acquaintance. 

Upon  the  whole  I  shall  make  this  remark,  that  the  handy  work  of 
Prometheus  and  their  progeny  are  to  be  distinguished,  with  the  greatest 
ease,  from  that  of  his  journeymen  ;  his  being  all  humane,  benevolent, 
easy,  affable,  good-humored,  charitable,  and  friendly :  whereas,  those  of 
his  journeymen  are  cmel,  malicious,  turbulent,  morose,  ill-natured, 
snarling,  quarrelsome,  pragmatical,  covetous,  and  inhuman,  which  we 
daily  experience  among  the  great  vulgar  and  the  small,  nor  can  all  the 
power  of  art  or  education  entirely  wash  away  the  dirt  of  the  journey- 
man's palm,  or  quite  abolish  or  restrain  that  exuberance  of  wrong  pas- 
sions, which  are  owing  to  the  cause  already  assigned. 

Four  of  this  series  of  essays  in  the  Rehearsal  are 
occupied  with  a  discussion  upon  the  frauds  and  delusions, 
to  which  mankind  are  subjected,  by  natural  causes  or  by 
the  deceptions  of  the  artful   and  hypocritical ;  and  in 


JEREMY    GRIDLEY.  121 

attempting  to  remove  llie  popular  impressions  and  fears 
of  spirits,  apparitions,  and  witches  ;  a  subject  suggested, 
no  doubt,  by  the  proceedings  in  relation  to  witchcraft, 
which,  about  that  time,  were  carried  on  with  a  perti- 
nacity and  apparent  sincerity,  that  have  been  the  aston- 
ishment of  all  the  succeeding  generations.  The  style 
and  mode  of  treating  this  subject  will  be  sufficiently 
shown  in  the  extracts  that  follow :  — 

*  *  *  "We  are  not,  and  wc  cannot  be,  sure  that  there  are  not  other 
beings,  who  are  inhal)itants  of  the  air  or  jsther,  with  bodies  suited 
to  and  nourished  by  these  thin  elements,  and  perhaps  with  senses  and 
faculties  superior  to  us  ;  for  the  works  of  Almighty  God  are  as  infinite 
as  is  his  power  to  do  them  ;  and  'tis  paying  a  greater  deference  to  him, 
and  having  higher  conceptions  of  his  omnipotence,  to  suppose  that  he 
saw  all  things  which  have  been,  are,  or  ever  shall  be,  at  one  ,view,  and 
formed  the  whole  system  of  nature  with  such  exquisite  contrivance  and 
infinite  wisdom  as  by  its  own  energy  and  intrinsic  powers,  to  produce 
all  the  effects  and  operations  which  we  daily  see,  feel, and  admire;  than 
to  believe  him  to  be  often  interposing  to  alter  and  amend  his  own  work, 
which  was  undoubtedly  perfect  at  first,  though  in  the  pursuit  of  his 
eternal  decrees,  and  in  the  course,  progress,  and  unbroken  chain  of  his 
original  system,  he  seems  to  us,  sometimes,  to  act  occasionally  when  in 
compliance  to  our  weak  comprehensions,  and  in  condescension  to  our 
low  capacities,  he  speaks  and  appears  to  act  after  the  manner  of  men- 
We  have  not  faculties  to  see  or  know  things  as  they  are  in  themselves, 
but  only  in  such  lights  as  our  Creator  pleases  to  represent  them  to  us ; 
He  has  given  us  talents  suited  to  our  wants  and  to  understand  his  will, 
and  obey  it ;  and  here  is  our  ne  plus  ultra.  We  may  be  very  sure  that  we 
are  not  obliged  to  know  what  'tis  beyond  our  power  to  know ;  but  all 
such  things  are  as  nonentities  to  us. 

Whenever  therefore  we  hear  of  or  see  any  surprizing  appearances  or 
events  in  nature,  which  we  cannot  trace  and  connect  to  their  immediate 
causes,  we  are  not  to  call  in  supernatural  powers,  and  interest  heaven 
or  hell  in  the  solution  to  save  our  credit  and  cover  our  own  folly,  when 
there  are  so  few  tilings  in  the  world  we  know  any  thing  of,  and  of  these 
few  we  know  but  very  little.  We  are  not  to  measure  the  works  of  God 
by  our  scanty  capacities  ;  and  believe  that  he  miraculously  interposes  in 
the  course  of  human  affairs,  but  when  he  pleases  to  intimate  to  us,  that 
he  intends  to  do  so ;  much  less  ought  we  to  introduce  demons  into  his 

11 


12?  WEEKLY     REHEARSAL. 

system  of  tlie  universe,  nnless  as  objects  or  instruments,  and  execution, 
ers  of  his  vengeance ;  but  not  to  intrude  into  his  government  of  the 
world,  to  trepan  and  mislead  his  creature*,  and  to  thwart  and  oppose 
himself;  and  every  now  and  anon,  to  cut  the  chain,  stop  the  wheels, 
and  interrupt  the  course  of  his  Providence. 
***** 

"VMiich  of  our  senses  does  not  often  deceive  us  ?  Strangling,  or 
strong  pressure  of  the  eyes,  causes  all  things  to  appear  on  fire ;  of  the 
ears,  makes  us  hear  noises  ;  straight  things,  in  the  water,  appear  crook- 
ed; hodics,  by  reflection  or  refraction,  appear  otherwise  and  in  other 
places,  than  they  are  in  Nature.  All  things  appear  yellow  to  men  in 
the  jaundice ;  and  to  those  in  calentures,  the  sea  appears  like  a  green 
meadow,  and,  if  not  restrained,  they  will  leap  into  it.  Melancholy  and 
enthusiastic  persons  fimcy  themselves  to  be  glass  bottles,  knives,  and 
tankards  ;  madmen  often  believe  themselves  gods  or  princes,  and  almost 

always  see  spirits The  frame  and  contexture  of  our 

bodies  betrays  us  to  these  delusions.  For  as  all  objects  and  images 
from  without  are  let  in  upon  the  mind  by  the  windows  or  conduits  of 
the  senses,  and  the  mind  afterwards  ranges,  methodizes,  operates,  and 
reasons  upon  them  ;  so  it  can  only  work  upon  such  materials  as  it  re- 
ceives, and  consequently  when  the  orgnns  of  sensation  are  wrong-framed 
in  their  original  contexture,  or  depraved  after  by  sickness  or  accidents, 
the  mind  must  be  misled  too,  and  often  mistake  appearances  for  real 
beings  :  When  the  sj)ies,  scouts,  and  out-guards  are  seized,  corrupted, 
or  deceived,  the  intelligence  will  be  fallacious  or  none  at  all. 
***** 

Our  present  workers  or  seers  of  miracles  never  tell  us  any  thing  worth 
knowing ;  and  we  have  no  other  evidence  that  they  are  seen  or  done, 
but  the  veracity  of  those  who  tell  them,  wlio  may  be  deceived  themselves, 
or  invent  lies  to  deceive  others.  The  proof  ought  always  to  be  equal  to 
the  importance  of  the  thing  to  be  believed  ;  for,  when  it  is  more  likely 
that  a  man  should  tell  a  lie,  or  be  deceived,  than  that  a  strange  pheno- 
menon should  be  tnie,  methinks  there  should  be  no  difficulty  to  determine 
on  which  side  of  the  question  we  should  give  our  assent. 

If  one  or  two  men  affirm  they  saw  another  leap  twenty  yards  at  one 
leap,  no  one  will  doubt  but  they  are  liars ;  but  if  they  testify  that  they 
saw  a  goblin  Avith  saucer  ej'cs  and  cloven  feet,  in  a  church  yard,  leap 
over  the  tower,  all  the  town  is  in  a  fright,  and  few  of  them  will  venture 
to  walk  abroad  in  a  dai-k  night.  Sometimes  these  phantoms  appear  to 
one  who  is  in  company  with  others,  and  no  one  can  see  them  but  him- 
self; and  3^et  all  the  rest  are  terrified  at  his  relation,  without  reasoning 
that  they  have  the  same,  or  better  faculties  of  seeing  than  he  has  ;  and 


JEREMY    GRIDLEY.  123 

therefore  tliat  liis  organs  must  bo  indisposed,  or  that  he  designs  to  im- 
pose upon  them  ;  l)ut  it  passes  for  a  miracle,  and  then  all  doubts  are 
solved  and  all  inquiries  at  an  end.  All  men  !)clievc  most  of  these  stories 
to  be  false,  and  yet  almost  all  believe  some  of  them  to  be  true,  upon  no 
better  evidence  than  they  reject  the  rest.  The  next  story  of  an  old 
woman  iuhalnting  a  cat,  or  flying  in  the  air  upon  a  liroomstick,  sets 
them  a  staring,  and  puts<thcir  incredulity  to  a  non  plus.  We  often  hear 
of  a  spirit  appearing  to  discover  a  silver  spoon,  a  purse  of  hidden 
money,  or  perhaps  a  jjrivate  murder ;  but  we  are  never  told  of  a  tyrant, 
who  by  private  murder  has  slaughtered  thousands,  and  by  public 
butcheries  destroyed  millions,  ever  dragged  out  of  his  court  by  good  or 
evil  spirits,  as  a  terror  to  such  monsters ;  such  an  instance  would  con- 
vince all  mankind ;  and  if  Almighty  God  thought  fit  to  work  by  such 
engines,  and  intended  that  we  should  believe  in  them  or  any  of  them,  it 
is  impossible  to  believe  but  he  would  take  the  jiropercst  methods  to  gain 
our  assent. 

From  what  I  have  said,  and  much  more  which  might  be  said,  I  think 
I  may  with  great  assurance  conclude,  that  these  capricious  and  fantas- 
tical beings  are  not  suffered  to  interfere  and  mingle  with  human  aftairs, 
only  to  mislead  men,  and  interrupt  them  in  the  pursuit  of  their  duty ; 
nor  can  I  see  any  foundation  in  nature,  reason,  or  Scripture,  to  believe 
there  are  any  such  as  they  are  usually  represented  to  us,  which  neither 
agree  and  keep  up  to  the  characters,  dignity,  and  excellence  of  good 
angels,  or  the  sagacity,  use,  and  office  of  bad  ones.  AVhen  are  we  com- 
manded to  believe  that  the  Devil  plays  hide-and-seek  here  on  earth ; 
that  he  is  permitted  to  ran  up  and  down  and  divert  himself  by  seducing 
ignorant  men  and  women ;  killing  pigs,  or  making  them  miscairy ; 
entering  into  cats,  and  making  noises,  and  playing  monkey-tricks  in 
church-yards  and  empty  houses,  or  any  where  else  on  earth,  but  in 
empty  heads  ? 

****** 

INIethinks  the  advocates  for  Satan's  empire  here  on  earth  are  not  very 
consistent  with  themselves ;  and  in  the  works  they  attribute  to  him  do 

not  credit  enough  to  his  abilities  and  power They  give  him 

a  power  to  do  miracles ;  make  him  prince  of  the  air,  lord  of  the  hidden 
minerals,  wise,  rich,  and  powerful;  as  well  as  false,  treacherous,  and 
wicked ;  and  are  foolish  and  presumptuous  enough  to  bring  him  upon 
the  stage  as  a  rival  for  empire  with  the  Almighty,  but  at  the  same  time 
put  a  fool's  coat  and  cap  upon  him.  His  skill  has  hitherto  gone  no 
farther  than  to  cram  pins  down  children's  tln-oats,  and  throw  them  into 
fits ;  to  turn  wort,  to  kill  pigs,  to  sell  wind,  (dog-cheap  too  ; )  to  put  out 
candles,  or  to  make  half  blind  people  see  two  at  once ;  to  help  hares  to 


124  WEEKLY    REHEARSAL. 

run  away  from  dogs ;  .  .  .  .  and  such  like  feats  of  knight-errantry 
And  what  is  yet  worse,  I  cmnot  find  in  these  last  eighteen  hundred 
years,  that,  with  all  his  cunning,  he  has  invented  one  new  trick,  but  goes 
on  in  the  same  dull  road ;  for  there  is  scarce  a  storj'  told  of  a  spirit  or  a 
witch,  who  has  played  ])ranks  in  the  next  parish,  but  we  have  the  same 
storv',  or  one  very  like  it,  in  Cicero's  Tract,  de  Divinatione. 

He  always  plays  at  small  games,  and  lives  mostly  upon  neck-beef. 
His  intrigues  are  all  with  old  women,  and  when  he  has  gained  his  ends 
of  them,  feeds  them  only  with  bread  and  water,  and  gives  tlicm  but  a 
groat  in  their  pocket  to  buy  tobacco ;  which,  in  my  mind  is  very  ungal. 
lant,  not  to  say  niggardly  and  ungenerous  in  so  great  a  potentate,  who 
has  all  the  riches  of  the  hidden  world  ^vithin  his  dominions.  I  cannot 
find  in  all  my  reading,  that  he  has  expended  as  much  in  five  hundred 
years  last  past,  as  would  have  carried  one  election. 

Mcthinks,  he  might  have  Icamt  a  little  more  wit  from  his  faithful 
emissaries  here  on  earth,  who  throw  and  scatter  about  money  as  if  there 
was  never  to  be  an  end  of  it ;  and  get  him  more  votaries  in  a  week  than 
he  can  purchase  for  himself  in  a  century,  and  put  him  to  not  a  penny 
charge  neither ;  for  they  buy  people  with  their  own  money :  But  to  keep 
such  a  clatter  and  coil  about  an  old  woman,  and  then  leave  her  to  he 
hanged  that  he  may  get  her  into  his  dutches  a  month  sooner,  is  very 
ungrateful ;  and,  as  I  conceive,  wholly  unsuitable  to  a  person  of  his 
rank  and  figure. 

I  should  have  imagined,  that  it  would  have  been  more  agreeable  to 
the  -wisdom  and  cunning  always  attributed  to  him,  in  imitation  of  his 
betters,  to  have  opened  his  purse-strings,  and  have  purchased  people  of 
more  importance,  and  who  could  do  him  more  real  service.  I  fancy  that 
I  know  some  of  them,  who  would  be  ready  to  take  his  money,  if  they 
knew  where  he  was  to  be  spoken  with  ;  and  who  are  men  of  nice  honor, 
and  would  not  betray  or  break  their  word  with  him,  whatever  they  may 
do  with  their  countrymen.  Besides,  I  conceive,  it  is  very  impolitic  in 
one  of  his  sagacity  and  in  one  who  has  so  many  aide  ministers  in  his  own 
dominions,  and  elsewhere,  to  act  so  incautious  a  part.  It  is  very  well 
known,  a  plot  discovered,  or  a  rebellion  quelled,  gives  new  credit  and 
reputation  to  the  conquerors,  who  always  make  use  of  them  to  settle 
their  own  empire,  ett'ectually  to  subdue  their  enemies,  to  lessen  their 
powers,  and  to  force  them  for  the  most  part  to  change  sides  ;  and,  in  fact, 
one  witch  hanged  or  burat,  makes  old  Beelzebub  a  great  many  adversa- 
ries, and  frightens  thousands  from  having  any  more  to  do  with  him. 

For  these  reasons  I  doubt  he  is  shrewdly  belied  by  those  from  whom 
he  might  expect  lietter  usage ;  and  that  all  the  stories  commonly  told 
about,  and  believed  concerning,  him,  are  invented  and  credited  by  such 


JEREMY    GRIDLEY.  125 

only  as  have  much  less  wit  or  not  more  honesty  than  himself.  To  enter 
into  a  detail  of  them  is  endless,  as  well  as  unnecessary  for  my  pur- 
pose  

An  essay  on  Liberty  and  Toleration  concludes  with 

these  very  just  remarks  :  — 

Perverseness  and  obstinacy  are  generally  charged  upon  those  that  re- 
fuse a  compliance  in  all  schemes.  This  may  not  be  true,  even  where 
the  scheme  is  most  unexceptionable ;  but  they  are  for  the  most  part 
drawn  up  in  words  and  forms  so  liable  to  dispute,  and  take  in  so  many 
and  unnecessary  points,  which  are  all  equally  prescribed  under  the  same 
sanctions  with  the  plainest  and  most  important  parts  ;  and  without  giv- 
ing assent  to  all  and  every  particular,  how  near  so  ever  a  man  may 
approach  towards  it,  there  is  no  coming  in  honestly ;  that  what  is  called 
stubbornness  is  frequently  nothing  else  but  the  most  unbiassed  integrity, 
and  a  more  awful  sense  and  reverence  of  truth  than  the  greatest  part  of 
men  have.  And  in  aU  instances  of  non-comi)liance  to  a  man's  evident 
disadvantage  in  several  consideraljle  respects,  'tis  fair  presumption  that 
he  is  a  person  of  probity  and  conscience,  though  he  may  lie  under  an 
unfortunate  mistake. 

Tlie  following  Lines  in  the  Rehearsal  of  December 
13,  were  inserted  at  the  request  of  a  friend,  and  said  to 
be  the  production  of  a  young  gentleman  in  the  country  : 

ON   A  LADY,    SmGING. 
Whilst  Celia  sings,  let  no  inti-uding  breath 
DefoiTQ  the  air ;  ye  winds,  grow  calm  as  death. 
On  silken  wings,  ye  wliispcring  zephyrs  fly. 
And  in  soft  murmixrs  steal  along  the  sky, 
Soft  as  the  murmiu-s  of  a  virgin's  sigh. 
Close  in  the  deep  recesses  of  my  breast. 
Those  deep  recesses,  where  she  reigns  confest, 
Let  every  traitor  passion  lie  confined  ; 
Let  Love  himself  seem  banished  from  my  mind. 
Let  every  sigh  be  hushed  ;  for  should  my  sighs 
Burst  forth,  and  in  rebellious  murmurs  rise, 
My  sighs  with  noise  the  solemn  scene  would  fill 
And  breathe  a  storai,  though  all  the  winds  were  still. 
In  vain,  ye  gales,  your  silken  plumes  display. 
In  silence  rise,  in  silence  melt  away, 
Soft  as  the  voice,  and  gentle  as  the  lay. 
11  * 


126  WEEKLY    REHEARSAL. 

Strange  power  of  harmony  !  whose  silver  sound 

Can  charm  so  sweetly,  and  so  sweetly  wound. 

Transported  with  the  notes,  that  pierce  our  ear, 

Our  raptured  souls  exulting  spring  to  hear. 

My  raptured  soul  would  soar  with  every  strain, 

But  that  thy  eyes  command  it  back  again. 

To  raise  our  powers  with  heavenly  notes  is  thine, 

To  bid  our  grosser  parts  to  soul  refine  ; 

'Tis  thine,  fair  Maid,  with  gentle  warbling  au-s. 

To  soothe  our  passions,  and  beguile  all  cares. 

All  —  but  the  cares  of  love  ;  these  still  arise, 

Heave  in  our  breasts,  and  wanton  in  our  eyes. 

Assisted  by  thy  breath,  the  flames  aspire, 

Glow  with  new  rage,  and  blaze  with  double  fire. 

Thus  darts  in  venom  steeped  with  barbarous  skill, 

Wing  certain  fate,  witli  two-fold  anguish  kill. 

None  but  the  Father  of  the  gods,  and  you 

Could  dart  a  flame  so  bright  and  killing  too. 

Swift  as  Jove's  lightning  flies  each  fatal  sound, 

And,  like  Jove's  lightning,  kills  without  a  wound. 

The  muse  invoked  in  elegiac  strains 

Soft  warbling,  strings  the  lyre  to  ease  our  pains. 

Flow  soft,  yc  strains  !  and  soothe  her  savage  mind  ; 

O  learn  to  charm  the  nymph,  who  charms  mankind. 

In  vain,  alas  !  the  muse  and  treacherous  lyre 

Torment  our  flames  and  face  tlie  raging  fire  ; 

"\i^^lilst  you,  like  Echo,  with  so  sweet  a  sound. 

Repeat  our  strains.  .  .  .  Our  strains  increase  the  wound. 

Think,  then,  tliou  Fairest  of  the  fairer  train  ! 

What  fatal  beauties  ann  thy  face  and  mein  ; 

Whose  very  voice  can  lasting  flame  inspire. 

We  think  'tis  air,  but  ah  !  we  feel  'tis  Jire. 

The  original  essays  of  the  editor  of  the  Rehearsal 
were  discontinued  before  the  close  of  the  first  year.  It 
became  then  a  mere  record  of  the  passing  events  of  the 
day.  In  1733,  Thomas  Fleet  who  had,  for  some  time, 
been  the  printer,  and  was  interested  in  the  publication, 
became  the  sole  proprietor.  In  announcing  the  new 
arrangement  to   the  public,   he  declared  himself  of  no 


JEREMY    GRIDLEY.  127 

party,  and  invited  "  all  gentlemen  of  leisure  and  ca- 
pacity, inclined  on  either  side,  to  write  any  thing  of  a 
political  nature,  that  tends  to  enlighten  and  serve  the 
public,  to  communicate  their  productions,  provided  they 
are  not  over  long,  and  confined  within  modesty  and  good 
manners  ;  for  all  possible  care  will  be  taken  that  nothing 
contrary  to  these  shall  ever  be  here  published." 

Of  Jeremy  Gridley,  the  projector,  author  and  proprietor 
of  the  Rehearsal,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Eliot  says,  in  his  Bio- 
graphical Dictionary,  —  "  He  was  Attorney-General  of 
the  province,  member  of  the  General  Court,  Colonel 
of  the  first  regiment  of  Militia,  President  of  the  Marine 
Society,  and  Grand  Master  of  Freemasons.  In  1725, 
he  took  his  degree  at  Cambridge ;  was  assistant  in  the 
Grammar  School  in  Boston,  and  a  preacher  of  the  Gos- 
pel ;  but  soon  turned  his  attention  to  the  law,  and 
became  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  profession.  In 
1732,  he  was  editor  of  a  newspaper  called  the  Rehearsal, 
and  filled  the  first  page  with  an  essay,  either  moral  or 
critical,  besides  writing  political  paragraphs.  His  man- 
ner of  writing  is  handsome,  and  his  speculations  ingen- 
ious. At  the  bar  his  speech  was  rough,  his  manner 
hesitating,  but  energetic,  and  his  words  forcible  by  a 
peculiar  emphasis.  His  opinion  was  always  given,  even 
to  the  judges,  with  a  magisterial  air ;  his  legal  knowledge 
was  unquestionable.  He  was  on  the  side  of  the  Whigs  ; 
and,  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  where  he  was  a 
member  some  years  from  Brookline,  he  opposed  the 
measures  of  Great-Britain  ;  but  in  a  question  on  search- 
warrants,  his  speech  as  Attorney-General,  contains  senti- 
ments incompatible  with  freedom,  which  was  confuted 
by  Otis.     .     .     .     He  died  poor,  because  he  despised 


128  WEEKLY    REHEARSAL. 

wealth.''^     He  died  in  Boston,  September  7,  1767.    The 

Gazette  and  News-Letter  of  the  17th  of  that  month  has 

the  following  "  Extempore  Lines  "  on  his  death  :  — 

Of  parts  and  learning,  wit  and  worth  possessed, 
Gridley  shone  forth,  conspicuous  o'er  the  rest ; 
In  native  i)Owcrs  robust,  and  sniit  with  fixme. 
The  genius  brightened  and  the  spark  took  Hiune ; 
Natiu'C  and  Science  wove  the  Laurel  crown. 
Ambitious,  each  alike  confeiTed  renown. 

High  in  the  dignity  and  strength  of  thought, 
Tlie  maze  of  knowledge  sedulous  he  sought, 
With  mind  su])erior  studied  and  retained, 
And  Life  and  Property  by  Law  sustained. 

Generous  and  free,  his  liberal  hand  he  spread, 
The  oppressed  relieved,  and  for  the  needy  plead ; 
Awake  to  friendship,  with  the  ties  of  blood  ; 
His  heart  expanded  and  his  soid  o'crflowcd. 

Social  in  converse,  in  the  Senate  brave, 
Gay  e'en  with  dignity,  witli  wisdom  grave  ; 
Long  to  his  country  and  to  courts  endeared. 
The  Judges  honored  and  the  Bar  revered. 

Rest,  peaceful  Shade  !  innoxious,  as  thy  walk. 
May  Slander  babble,  and  may  Censure  talk, 
Ne'er  on  thy  memory  Envy  cast  a  blot, 
But  human  frailties  in  thy  worth  forgot. 


TEE  BOSTON  EVENING  POST. 


In  the  Rehearsal  of  August  14,  1735,  Thomas  Fleet, 
then  its  sole  proprietor,  gave  notice  that,  for  the  future, 
he  should  print  it  every  Monday  evening,  —  instead  of 
Monday  morning,  as  it  had  previously  been  published  : 
But  the  next  Monday,  instead  of  the  Rehearsal,  he 
issued  a  paper  with  the  title  of  The  Boston  Evening 
Post,  —  in  every  thing  except  the  title,  a  fac  simile  of 
The  Rehearsal.  It  was  numbered  202,  —  the  last 
number  of  the  Rehearsal  having  been  201;  but,  in 
order  to  break  off  the  apparent  continuity  of  connection 
between  the  two  papers,  and  to  destroy  their  identity, 
the  second  number  of  the  Evening  Post  was  marked 
Number  2,  and  all  succeeding  issues  followed  in  their 
proper  numerical  order. 

The  Evening  Post  soon  became  the  most  popular  of 
the  Boston  newspapers.  Fleet  was  a  man  of  considera- 
ble talent,  and  often  afforded  specimens  of  his  wit  and 
humor  in  editorial  paragraphs  and  advertisements.  It 
does  not  appear,  from  the  files  of  his  paper,  that  he 
took  a  very  decided  part  in  the  political  or  religious  con- 
troversies  of    the   day.     Writers    of   entirely    different 


130  BOSTON    EVENING    POST. 

views,  on  topics,  which  agitated  the  pubhc  mind,  made 
use  of  his  columns,  without  stint,  and,  sometimes,  with 
little  regard  to  decency.  They  indulged,  occasionally, 
in  language,  which,  now,  would  subject  a  printer  to  se- 
vere public  censure,  if  not  to  the  action  of  a  grand  jury. 
Public  sentiment,  in  regard  to  the  newspaper  press,  has 
undergone  an  essential  revolution,  since  that  period. 
The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Council  of  Massachusetts,  concerning  a  para- 
graph, published  by  Fleet,  on  the  eighth  of  March, 
1741:  — 

At  a  Council,  held  at  the  Council  Chamber  in  Boston,  upon  Tuesday 
the  9th  day  of  March,  1741. 

Whereas  there  is  published  in  the  weekly  paper  called  the  Boston 
Evening  Post  of  yesterday's  date,  a  paragraph  in  the  following  words : 
"  Last  Saturday  Capt.  Gibbs  amved  here  from  Madeira,  who  informs  us, 
that  before  he  left  that  Island,  Capt.  Dandridge,  in  one  of  His  Majes- 
ty's ships  of  forty  guns,  came  in  there  from  England,  and  gave  an 
account,  that  the  Parliament  had  called  for  all  the  Papers  relating  to 
the  War,  and  'twas  expected  the  Kight  Hon.  ISir  Kobert  Walpole 
would  be  taken  into  custody  in  a  very  few  d.ays.  Capt.  Dandridge  wqs 
going  upon  the  Virginia  station  to  relieve  the  valiant  and  vigilant  Knight 
there,  almost  worn  out  in  the  service  of  his  country,  and  for  which  he 
has  a  chance  to  be  rewarded  with  a  Flmj'^  Which  paragraph  contains  a 
scandalous  and  libelous  KcHection  uj>on  his  Majesty's  Administration, 
and  may  tend  very  much  to  inflame  the  minds  of  his  Majesty's  subjects 
here  and  disaffcct  tliem  to  his  Government; 

Therefore,  Ordered,  That  the  Attorney-General  do,  as  soon  as  may 
be,  file  an  Information  against  Thomas  Fleet,  the  Publislier  of  the  said 
Paper,  in  his  Majesty's  Superior  Court  of  Judicatui'c,  Court  of  Assize 
and  General  Gaol  Delivery,  in  order  to  his  being  prosecuted  for  his  said 
offence,  as  Law  and  Justice  requires.  W.  Shirley. 

Copy  Examin'd,  per  J.  Willard,  Sec. 

How  this  affair  ended,  is  not  known.  Mr.  Thomas 
thinks  that  no  prosecution  took  place,  "  as  Fleet  pro- 
cured five  respectable  persons  to  testify  to  the  truth  of 
the  contents  of  the  paragraph." 


THOMAS    FLEET.  i3| 

Several  of  tlic  Boston  newspapers  had  been  printed 
for  postmasters,  and  very  little  printing  had  been  execut- 
ed by  printers  on  their  own  account.  To  these  cir- 
cumstances allusion  is  made  in  the  following  editorial  in 
the  Post,  No.  50  :  — 

We  have  lately  received  from  an  intelligent  and  worthy  friend  in  a 
neighboring  Government,  to  the  Southward  of  ns,  the  following  re- 
markable Piece  of  News,  which  we  beg  our  Readers  Patience  to  hear, 
viz.  That  the  Printer  there  gets  a  great  deal  of  money,  has  Twenty 
Shillings  for  every  Advertisement  published  in  his  News-Paper,  calls  Us 
Fools  for  working  for  nothing,  and  has  lately  purchased  an  Estate  of 
Fourteen  Hundred  Pounds  Value.  We  should  be  heartily  glad  (had  we 
Cause  for  it)  to  return  our  Friend  a  like  surprizing  account  of  the 
Printers  Prosperity  here.  But  alas  !  the  reverse  of  our  Brother's  Cir- 
cumstances seems  hereditary  to  Us:  It  is  well  known  we  are  the  most 
humble,  self-denying  Set  of  Mortals  (we  wish  we  could  say  Men) 
breathing ;  for  where  there  is  a  Penny  to  be  got,  we  readily  resign  it  up 
to  those  who  are  no  Ways  related  to  the  Business,  nor  have  any  Pre- 
tence or  Claim  to  the  Advantages  of  it.  And  whoever  has  observ'd 
our  Conduct  hitherto,  has  Reason  enough  to  think,  that  we  hold  it  a 
mortal  Crime  to  make  any  other  Use  of  om-  Brains  and  Hands  than 
barely  to  help  us 

To  purchase  homely  Fare,  and  fresh  small  Beer, 
(Hard  Fate  indeed,  we  can't  have  better  Cheer,)' 
And  buy  a  new  Blue  Apron  once  a  Year. 
But  as  we  propose  in  a  short  Time  to  publish  a  Dissertation  upon  the 
mean  and  humble  state  of  the  Printers  of  this  Town,  we  shall  say  no 
more  at  present  upon  this  important  Subject,  and  humbly  ask  Pardon 
for  so  large  a  Digression.     Only  we  would  inform,  that  in  this  most 
necessary  Work  we  are  promised  the  Assistance  of  a  worthy  Friend 
and  able  Casuist,  who  says  he  doubts  not  but  that  he  shall  easily  make 
it  appear,  even  to  the  Satisfaction  of  the  Printers  themselves,  that  they 
may  be  as  good  Christians,  as  useful  Neighbors,  and  as  legal  Subjects, 
altho'  they  should  sometimes  feed  upon  Beef  and  Pudding,  as  they 
have  hitherto  approved  themselves  by  their  most  rigid  abstemious  way 
of  li\ing. 

Here  are  some  of  Fleet's  advertisements  :  — 
To  be  sold  by  the  Printer  of  this  paper,  the  very  best  Negro  Woman 
in  this  Town,  who  has  had  the  small  pox  and  the  measles ;  is  as  hearty 
as  a  Horse,  as  brisk  as  a  Bird,  and  will  work  like  a  Beaver. 


132  BOSTON    EVENING    POST. 

To  be  sold  by  the  Printer  of  this  Paper,  a  Nojrro  man,  about  thirty- 
years  ohl,  who  can  do  both  Town  and  Country  Business  very  well,  but 
will  suit  the  Country  best,  where  they  have  not  so  many  Dram  Shops 
as  we  have  in  Boston.  He  has  work'd  at  the  Printing  Business  fiftcea 
or  sixteen  years ;  (-an  handle  Ax,  Saw,  Spade,  Hoe,  or  other  Instru- 
ment of  Husbandry  as  well  as  most  men,  and  values  himself,  and  is 
valued  by  others,  for  his  Skill  in  Cookery  and  making  of  Soap. 

03^  A  Certain  Person  in  this  Town  wants  to  buy  a  good  easy  and  gen- 
tle Horse,  that  will  go  in  a  Chaise.  Whoever  has  got  one  to  dispose  of 
is  desired  to  inform  the  Printer,  who  will  direct  him  to  a  chap. 

K^  The  Subscribers  for  this  Paper,  (cspccinlly  those  at  a  Distance) 
who  are  shamefully  in  An'car  for  it,  would  do  well  (methinks)  to  re- 
member those  Apostolical  Injunctions,  Kom.  xiii.  7,  8.  Jirnder  therefore 
to  all  their  dues; — and  Owe  do  man  any  thhig.  —  It  is  wonderful  to  ob- 
serve, that  while  we  hear  so  much  about  a  great  Revival  of  Rclirjiov  in 
the  Land ;  there  is  yet  so  little  Regard  had  to  Justice  and  Common  Hon- 
esty 1     Surely  they  are  Ahominuhle  Good  ]  Vorks .' 

In  the  Post  of  March  30,  1741,  a  correspondent  in- 
formed the  editor  tliat  on  the  preceding  evening  he  had 
the  curiosity  to  attend  the  lecture  of  INIr.  John  Pres- 
byter, [the  Rev.  .Jolin  Morehead,  pastor  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  in  Federal-street,]  where,  instead  of  the 
Gospel  of  peace  and  love,  he  heard  the  most  violent 
rant,  the  most  angry  and  ill-natured  invectives,  that  he 
had  ever  heard  in  his  life.  "  Mr.  Presbyter  was  ex- 
pounding the  second  chapter  of  Solomon's  Song,  and 
when  he  came  to  the  loth  verse,  —  'Take  us  the  foxes, 
the  littJe  foxes,  that  spoil  our  vines,'  he.  —  having 
worked  up  to  a  proper  temper  of  rage  and  fury,  he  fell 
foul  of  Wesley's  Sermon  on  Free  Grace,  [then  lately 
printed  by  Fleet,]  calling  it  a  bundle  of  the  vilest  here- 
sies, and  declaring  that  it  ought  to  be  burnt  by  the  com- 
mon hangman  ;  and  having  dismissed  the  author,  he 
bawled  against  the  printer,  in  a  most  hideous  manner, 
denouncing  the  judgements  of  God  against  him,  calling 


THOMAS    FLEET.  133 

him  a  mercenary  little  fox,  that  worked  for  hire ;  and 
last  of  all.  brought  in  the  poor  printing-press,  as  a  vile 
and  wicked  creature,  a  dangerous  engine,  a  sink  of  sedi- 
tion, error,  and  heresy,  and  advised  the  magistrates  to 
have  it  put  down,"  &,c.  To  this  Fleet  published  a 
reply,  that  filled  more  than  a  column  of  his  paper, — 
rather  sarcastic  in  its  tone,  and  not  very  complimentary 
to  his  reverend  opponent.  "  For  my  part  (he  said)  as 
I  have  often  declared,  so  I  do  again  declare,  that  I  am  of 
no  party,  but  act  purely  as  a  printer,  and  would  as  soon 
serve  one  side  as  the  other.  I  printed  Mr.  Wesley's 
Sermon,  not  because  I  liked  it,  but  because  several  gen- 
tlemen of  learning  and  good  sense  (who  I  think  have  as 
good  a  right  to  be  gratified  as  other  people)  desired  to 
have  it  printed,  and  I  had  a  prospect  of  getting  a  penny 
by  it,  as  I  have  by  all  that  I  print,  having  no  other  way 
to  support  my  family,  and  to  pay  what  the  Church  and 
State  expect  from  me  :  And  I  cannot  see  with  what 
front  Mr.  Presbyter  could  charge  my  working  for  hire  as 
a  crime,  when  I  never  yet  heard  that  he  served  his  peo- 
ple gratis.  .  .  .  Of  all  the  books  of  controversy,  that  I 
have  ever  read,  (and  I  have  read  some,)  I  never  met 
with  one  that  blamed  the  printers.  The  great  Dr.  Ed- 
wards, who,  for  his  knack  at  finding  fault,  might  have 
claimed  the  office  of  Accuser-General  of  all  Europe, 
and  made  as  free  with  authors  as  any  man  ever  did,  and 
for  aught  I  know,  has  censured  more  than  Mr.  Presbyter 
ever  read,  never,  that  I  can  find,  meddled  with  the 
printers  :  and  it  is  but  of  late,  that  some  weak  men 
have  thought  it  the  safest  and  easiest  way  to  answer 
books,  and  prejudice  people  against  authors  and  printers, 
to  whisper  against  them  in  chimney  corners,  or  declaim 
12 


134  BOSTON    EVEiNlNG    POST. 

in  more  public  and  exalted  places,  where  none  may  with 
safety  oppose  them,  or  speak  in  their  own  defence."  *  *  * 

After  much  more  in  a  similar  strain,  Fleet  closed  with 
a  "  P.  S.  I  am  just  now  told  that  Mr.  Presbyter's  rail- 
ing fit  is  not  gone  off  yet :  This  is  just  as  I  expected  : 
For,  as  I  know  the  man,  Pd  have  laid  jive  pounds  to  a 
pipe  of  tobacco,  that  Nature  would  be  too  strong  for 
Prudence.  However,  Pll  own  I  was  mistaken  in  this  ; 
I  did  not  expect  he  would  have  profaned  any  part  of  the 
Sabbath  with  liis  wild  and  uncharitable  rant,  as  he  did 
yesterday,  when  I  am  told  he  iiad  no  more  mercy  on  the 
poor  printers  than  a  sow  would  have  had  on  a  tailor.  O 
Monstrum  Horrendum !  to  use  a  barbarous  Latin  scrap 
of  his  own.  To  have  done,  I  advise  all  good  folks  that 
have  soreheads  or  thin  skulls,  to  play  at  cudgels  as  little 
as  possible  ;  and  such  as  are  troubled  with  sore  shins,  to 
beware  of  a  foot-ball." 

The  ministers  and  the  printers  of  Boston  were  often 
engaged  in  disputes,  if  they  were  not  in  a  state  of  con- 
tinual warfare.  In  December,  1742,  Fleet  said,  —  "  We 
are  credibly  informed  that  an  eminent  minister  of  tiiis 
town  has  lately  warned  his  people  against  reading  of 
pamphlets  and  newspapers,  wherein  are  contained  reli- 
gious controversies.  This  seems  a  bold  stroke,  and  a 
considerable  step  *(if  the  advice  should  be  regarded) 
towards  that  state  of  ignorance,  in  which,  it  seems,  some 
folks  would  willingly  see  the  body  of  this  people  envel- 
oped. The  next  stroke  may  probably  be  at  the  Liberty 
of  the  Press.  And  what  a  fine  introduction  this  will  be 
to  Popery,  we  leave  our  readers  to  judge.  However, 
we  cannot  forbear  saying,  that  however  desirous  some 
men  may  be  of  having   the  sole   direction  of  our  con- 


THOMAS    FLEET.  135 

sciences,  and  that  we  should  believe  all  that  they  say, 
and  nothing  else,  yet  there  is  reason  to  suspect,  from 
the  squabbles  and  contentions  observable  among  them- 
selves at  this  day,  that  there  are  but  few  men  in  these 
parts  of  the  world,  whose  dictates  are  infallible. 
Here  is  one  of  his  humorous  editorials  :  — 

Last  Wednesday  was  published,  (in  a  half  sheet  in  octavo)  a  Paper, 
called  the  Boston  Weekly  Magazine,  containing  some  pieces  from  the 
Magazines  formerly  printed  in  London,  a  Poem  to  a.  political  Lady,  an 
Ode  by  Mr.  Addison,  a  short  article  of  news  from  this  paper  and  an- 
other from  the  Post-Boy,  the  Boston  entries,  and  two  Advertisements. 
And,  on  Saturday,  another  Paper  made  its  appearance  among  us,  enti- 
tled. The  Christian  History ;  containing  (besides  the  Title  Page  and  a 
long  advertisement)  some  extracts  fi'om  a  printed  pamphlet  just  arrived 
from  Scotland.  Both  Papers  are  designed  to  come  out  weekly.  The 
first  offers  Room  for  Disputes  on  both  sides,  (which  is  fair  enough,)  so 
that  our  Religious  Controversies  are  more  likely  to  increase  than  sub- 
side. The  last  seems  a  Party  Paper,  and  design'd  only  for  the  use  of 
special  Friends,  it  being  with  great  Difficulty  that  we  could  obtain  one, 
they  refusing  (for  some  Time)  to  sell  'em,  either  at  tlie  Printer^s  or  at 
the  Publish ing-o&ce  but  on  Conditions  too  hard  to  be  complied  with  liy 
many,  who  were  yet  desirous  to  see  the  Specimen. 

The  sudden  Appearance  of  these  two  Papers,  without  the  previous 
Proposals  for  Encouragement,  must  needs  be  very  mortifying  to  the 
Rev.  Gentleman,  who,  more  than  a  year  ago  published  Proposals  for 
printing  a  weekly  Casuistical  Paper,  but  has  not  yet  found  sufficient 
Encouragement  to  begin  it.  And,  as  we  are  now  favoured  with  a 
Paper  every  day,  except  Friday,  (which,  by  the  way,  is  said  to  be  a  very 
unlucky  Day  to  go  to  Sea,  make  Soap,  or  begin  any  other  important 
Business  on)  it  behoves  the  Gentleman  to  bestir  himself,  lest  some 
other  Person,  out  of  pure  Love  to  his  Country,  should  put  out  a  Paper  on 
that  Day,  and  thereby  he  bo  utterly  excluded. 

The   appearance  of  the  Rev.  George  Whitefield   in 

Boston,  caused  a  great  "  stir  "  among  the  people.     The 

clergy  were  much   divided  in  their  opinions   regarding 

him.     Some  of  them  invited  him  to  their  pulpits  to  preach 

and  to  assist  in  the  administration  of  the  .sacrament  of 

the  supper  ;  while  others  endeavored  to  stay  the  pro- 


136  BOSTON    EVENING    POST. 

gress  of  an  enthusiasm,  that  seemed  to  threaten  the  over- 
throw of  some  of  the  estabhshed  congregational  churches. 
Fleet,  himself,  was  evidently  opposed  to  Whitefield,  and 
looked  upon  him  and  his  followers  as  enthusiasts  and 
bigots,  or  something  worse  ;  but  a  large  portion  of  the 
Evenino:  Post,  during  the  interval  between  Whitefield's 
first  and  second  visits,  was  occupied  with  the  communi- 
cations of  those  who  chose  to  defend,  as  well  as  those 
who  opposed  him.  These  two  parties  ridiculed  and 
abused  each  other  without  remorse.  Whitefield's  second 
visit  to  Boston  was  in  1744.  He  was  attacked  and 
defended  not  only  in  the  newspapers,  but  in  pamphlets. 
The  Rev.  Thomas  Foxcraft,  senior  pastor  of  the  First 
Church  in  Boston,  wrote  and  published  a  labored 
''  Apology  in  Behalf  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Whitefield,"  he. 
which  was  followed  by  a  number  of  very  severe  pieces 
in  reply  in  the  Evening  Post.  The  Rev.  William 
Hobby  of  Reading  published  "  A  Defence  of  the  Itine- 
rancy and  Conduct  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Whitefield,"  which 
subjected  him  to  numerous  attacks,  some  seriously  indig- 
nant, and  some  sarcastically  ludicrous.  Fleet  published 
and  advertised  for  sale,  "  A  Sprig  of  Birch  fur  Billyhs 
Breech  —  a  Letter  to  the  Rev.  William  Hobby,  &c. 
*  Judgements  are  prepared  for  scorners,  and  stripes  for 
the  back  of  fools. ^  "  The  Rev.  Mr.  Gee  of  Boston, 
published  in  the  Boston  Gazette  an  account  of  a  con- 
versation he  had  held  with  Fleet  in  relation  to  something 
he  had  published  about  Whitefield.  Fleet  replied  in  his 
own  paper,  in  an  article  of  great  severity,  and  \\ith  a 
boldness  which  showed  that  he  was  not  much  afraid  of 
his  spiritual  antagonist.  The  following  is  the  concluding 
paragraph  :  — 


THOMAS    FLEET. 

It  is  in  rain,  Sir,  for  men  to  call  upon  the  government  to  protect  their 
characters,  while  they  take  so  little  care  of  'em  themselves,  or  to  com- 
plain of  calumny  and  slander,  when  their  own  actions  are  the  greatest 
enemies  to  their  reputation ;  or  to  seek  sanctuary  in  the  ministerial 
office,  when  they  hardly  ever  discharge  any  part  of  the  ministerial  func- 
tion. Suffer  me,. therefore,  as  a  friend,  to  advise  you,  Sir,  .... 
to  studij  to  he  quiet,  and  do  your  own  business,  and  in  every  thing  to  behave 
as  the  Gospel  requires  you  should ;  then  -will  you  be  honored  and 
re.spected  by  all  men,  and  by  none  more  than  your  very  humble  servant, 

Thomas  Fleet. 

Two  letters  appeared  in  this  paper,  signed  "  Deborah 

Shearman,"  —  probably  written  by  Fleet,  —  from  which 

the  following  paragraphs  are  extracts  :  — 

Dear  Mr.  Whitefield, 

For  since  there  are  so  many  folks  about  you, 
that  I  can't  come  to  talk  with  you,  I  must  write  to  you.  I  am  glad  you 
are  come  back ;  I  wanted  to  see  your  dear  self  again,  as  well  as  to  hear 
you  preach.  And  besides  I  wanted  you  to  come  to  stop  the  mouths  of 
the  wicked  opposers,  who  say  you  were  glad  to  get  out  of  the  way,  that 
you  might  not  be  obliged  to  take  notice  of  the  two  wicked  letters  that 
were  published  about  you.  Dear  Sir,  do  own  you  an't  a  churchman, 
but  are  turned  dissenter,  and  then  all  the  long  letter  will  come  to  nothing. 
You  know.  Sir,  there  is  no  harm  in  changing,  when  a  body  sees  a  reason 
for  it.  You  must  do  something  about  it,  for  a  good  many  of  j'our 
friends  are  disturbed  at  it.  O  how  bold  have  the  opposers  been  since 
you  have  been  gone.     Almost  eveiy  day  something  or  other  has  been 

printed  about  you Ay,  and  the  bold  creatures  no  longer 

conceal  themselves,  but  i^ut  their  names  to  what  they  ■write.  Besides 
the  letter-learned  Eabbies  of  Cambridge,  (and  you  know  that  sort  of 
people  have  always  been  against  you  in  every  part  of  the  world,)  eight 
and  twenty  ministers  have  signed  a  paper  against  you.  Dear  Sir,  the 
Philistines  have  come  out  of  their  lurking-holes,  and  set  the  battle  in 

array  against  the  people  of  Israel What  names  have 

they  not  called  you  ?  .  .  .  .  Some  of  them  are  wicked  enough  to 
laugh  at  your  sermons,  and  say  you  told  us  with  much  gravity,  that 
Jacob's  ladder  had  got  two  ends  to  it.  Just  so  they  served  dear  Mr. 
Moorh — d,  but  for  all  that  he  keeps  his  lectures  up  yet.    Ah,  dear  Sir, 

don't  mind  their  laughing Do,  dear  Sir,  let  us  have  a 

JomTial  of  your  last  Jotn-ney,  for  I  long  to  know  what  passed  upon 
every  spot  of  ground,  where  dear  Mr.  Whitefield  trod. 
****** 

12* 


138  BOSTON    EVENING    POST. 

"Welcome  once  more,  dear  Mr.  Wliitefield,  It  is  quite  time  for  you 
to  come  back  again.  Your  cause  suffered  very  much  by  j'our  absence. 
Wc  have  had  fine  work  here  since  you  have  been  gone.     Next  time 

you  go  away,  do  leave  things  in  better  hands  than  Mr.  M d's,  to 

keep  up  your  morning  lectures,  and  Mr.  H by's  to  write  in  vindicar 

tion  of  your  Itinerancy.     They  have  both  of  them  come  off  badly.     As 

to  Mr.  M d,  indeed,  Sir,  he  wo'n't  do.     It  is  not  worth  one's  while 

to  get  up  early  for  him.  He  talks  along  so  fluently  and  uses  so  many 
hard  words,  that  I  really  believe  he  is  a  very  learned  man ;  but  some- 
thing or  other  is  the  matter;  when  meeting  is  done,  a  body  can't  tell 

one  word  he  has  been  saying.     Your  other  assistant,  poor  Mi'.  H by, 

what  work  they  have  made  of  liim  !  They  have  whipped  him  to  some 
tune.  They  call  it  only  a  twig,  but  it  falls  so  heavy,  that  I  should  take 
it  for  a  stick  as  thick  as  my  arm.  But  what  frets  one  tlie  most  is  that 
every  body  says  it  is  no  more  than  he  deserves.  I  had  like  to  have  for- 
got dear  Mr.  F. ;  he  has  done  all  he  could  for  you.  But  Heaven  grant 
he  may  write  no  more  Ajioloyies.  I  am  sure  the  women  have  no  reason 
to  thank  him.  If  what  he  has  wrote  be  true,  there  is  no  safety  in  matri- 
mony, especially  for  Sailor's  wives.  Their  husbands  may  have  sweet- 
hearts at  every  port  they  go  to.  He  has  I)een  sadly  handled  by  a  man 
with  three  or  four  names. 

Dear  Mr.  Whitefield,  what  have  you  been  doing  ever  since  you  have 
been  gone  ?  0  why  won't  you  let  us  know !  What  spiritual  battles 
have  you  fought  1  What  victories  have  you  Mon  1  What  towns, 
churches,  and  pulpits  have  you  entered  triumphantly  against  opposers  1 
Ah,  Sir,  you  were  quite  wrong  in  leaving  off  yom*  Jour- 
nals. I  did  not  think  you  would  let  your  opposers  laugh  you  out  of 
any  thing.  For  want  of  leaving  us  something  to  read  and  talk  about, 
your  name  has  been  hardly  mentioned  except  among  a  few  choice 

friends,  any  more  than  if  you  had  never  been  in  the  country 

Ah,  Sir,  you  had  better  have  wrote  Journals,  and  talked  of  the  ministers 
as  you  used  to  do,  for  I  do  assure  you  one  great  reason  why  we  thought 
you  the  best  minister  in  the  world,  was  because  you  had  persuaded  us 
that  most  others  were  good  for  nothing.  Now  you  are  come  back,  I 
hope  you  will  set  all  to  rights.  0  how  tedious  have  been  the  hours  of 
your  absence  !  how  long  your  delay  !  how  dull  aU  the  preaching  I  have 
heard ! 

Now  the  gentle  zephjTS  unbind  the  earth  from  winter's  icy  chains, 
the  fields  resume  tlieir  cheerful  dress,  and  all  nature  begins  to  look 
lovely.  Now  you  need  not  regard  the  opposition  made  to  your  being 
admitted  into  pulpits.  To  no  purpose  are  they  shut  against  you,  while 
the  fields  are  open.     There  unconfincd  by  walls,  you  may  make  your 


THOMAS    FLEET.  139 

charming  voice  roll  over  the  wide  extent,  while  prattling  Echo,  enamored 
with  it,  delights  to  repeat  it  from  every  rising  ground.  O  how  do  the 
sweet  sounds  enter  deep  into  our  hearts  !  how  do  they  soften  our  aflec- 
tions  and  make  us  all  tenderness !  Ah  !  they  may  call  it  enthusiasm, 
they  may  call  it  quietism,  they  may  call  it  what  they  will.  They  that 
never  felt  it,  can't  tell  how  charming  it  is  to  be  lulled  into  such  a  sweet 

insensibility,  such  a  languid  indolence Come,  then,  dear 

Mr.  Wliitefield,  come  away  into  the  fields.  Delay  not  om-  joys  any 
longer.  That  I  mayn't  be  any  hindrance,  I  will  break  off  my  tattling, 
and  subscribe  once  more,  dear  Mr.  Whitefield,  your  humble  servant, 

Deh.  Shearman. 
April  3,  1745. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Chauncey,  the  colleague  of  Mr.  Fox- 
croft,  wrote  a  pamphlet,  entitled  "  Seasonable  Thoughts 
on  the  State  of  Religion  in  New-England,"  which, 
judging  from  the  notices  of  it  in  the  newspapers,  was 
intended  to  allay  the  ill  feelings  that  pervaded  the  com- 
munity. Some  one  addressed  to  him,  through  the  Even- 
ing Post,  a  poetical  epistle,  beginning,  — 

Kev.  Sir, 

While  you  are  boldly  set  in  Truth's  defence, 
And  true  religion  join  to  solid  sense, 
Pardon  a  Muse,  who,  with  her  infant  lays. 
Dares  to  offend,  by  lisping  in  your  praise ; 
That  dares  to  inten-upt  that  sacred  pen 
That  vindicates  the  laws  of  God  and  men  ; 
And  since  you  will  engage  in  Virtue's  cause, 
Learn  to  forgive,  and  bear  mankind's  applause. 
****** 

Go  on.  Sir ;  still  Religion's  (;ause  maintain, 
Fear  not  the  weak  or  wicked  to  resti-ain  ; 
No  wonder  such  your  steady  zeal  oppose, 
Since  Truth  and  Reason  are  their  greatest  foes. 
Go  on,  regardless,  Sir,  of  what  they  say. 
Your  part  is  still  to  pity  and  to  pray. 
Let  them  curse  on ;  with  bitter  censures  rail ; 
Such  angry  curses  never  can  prevail : 
Their  willful  ignorance  with  candor  view ; 
Where  there  are  Davids  there  '11  be  Shimeis  too. 

And  endintr,  — 


140  BOSTON    EVENING    POST. 

May  you  possess  your  wonted  calm  of  mind, 
Your  universal  love  for  all  mankind ; 
May  godlike  charity  inspire  your  breast ; 
Still  may  you  entertain  that  heavenly  guest, 
Foretasting  the  delights  of  saints  above, 
Where  all  eternity  is  filled  with  love  ; 
That  so,  when  all  things  else  shall  fade  away, 
Your  sun  may  shiue  with  everlasting  day. 
Many  shall  then  surround  the  throne  of  God, 
Arriving  there  in  paths  which  you  have  trod. 
Blessing  their  Savior  for  his  tender  care, 
In  lending  such  a  guide  to  lead  them  there. 

The  great  Comet  of  1744,  was  thus  noticed  by- 
Fleet  :  — 

The  Comet  now  rises  about  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  appears 
very  large  and  bright,  and,  of  late,  it  has  been  seen  witli  its  lucid  train, 
in  the  day-time,  notwithstanding  the  lusti-e  of  the  Sun.  This  uncom- 
mon appearance  gives  much  uneasiness  to  timorous  people,  especially 
women,  who  will  needs  have  it  that  it  portends  some  dreadful  judge- 
ments to  this  our  land :  And  if,  from  the  apprehension  of  deserved 
judgements,  we  should  be  induced  to  abate  of  our  present  pride,  extrav- 
agance, &c.  and  should  become  more  humble,  peaceable,  and  charita- 
ble, honest  and  just,  industrious  and  fiiigal,  there  will  be  reason  to  think 
that  the  Comet  is  the  most  i)rofitaV)le  Itinei-ant  Preacher,  and  friendly 
NEW  LIGHT,  that  has  yet  appeared  among  us. 

The  same  paper  contains  the  following  Poem,  stated 
to  have  been  published  the  week  before,  with  a  curious 
cut,  representing  the  Comet,  the  Sun,  &ic.  and  to  be  .sold 
by  the  booksellers,  price  four-pence :  — 

THE  COMET  :  A  POEM. 
Descend,  Urania,  and  inspire  my  verse  ; 
I  raise  my  song  to  sing  your  kindred  stars  ; 
I  aim  to  rove  where  glittering  Comets  stray. 
Trace  the  bright  wanderers  through  the  ethereal  way. 

See,  heavenly  Muse,  view  with  attentive  eyes, 
The  i-uddy  wonder  of  the  evening  skies ! 
Prom  star  to  star,  the  burning  rain  rolls, 
Beams  through  the  ether,  and  alanns  the  poles. 
Around  the  earth  the  wondering  nations  gaze 
On  the  dire  terrors  of  the  lengthened  blaze, 


THOMAS    FLEET.  14l 

'V\T)ile,  trailing  on,  tliey  dream  its  sparkling  hair 
Shakes  famine,  earthquake,  pestilence,  and  war : 
Illusions  vain  !  remote  from  human  things, 
Where  other  planets  roll  in  other  rings, 
It  travels  vast,  and  all  around  proclaims 
A  world  in  chaos,  or  an  earth  in  flames. 

So  through  the  ether  swept  the  ancient  earth, 
Ere  time,  and  forms,  and  beauty  first  had  hirlh  ; 
Unsliaped  and  void,  thi-ough  sjjace  immense  it  roamed. 
Till  spake  the  God,  —  and  Eden  instant  hloomcd. 

Wliat  iniin,  what  confusion  might  be  hurled, 
By  such  a  ball  upon  om-  guilty  world  ! 
Witness,  ye  waves,  which  in  the  deluge  spread, 
Whelmed  o'er  the  earth,  and  sti'etched  the  nations  dead. 
Do-\\Ti  heaven's  high  steep,  wide-spread,  the  steaming  train 
Rushed  on  the  fields,  and  poured  the  floods  of  rain : 
The  dark  abyss,  attracted  into  day. 
Gushed  o'er  the  mountain  tops,  and  roared  away ; 
The  tossed  ark,  tottering,  through  its  fabric  shook, 
Involved  in  clouds  and  darkness,  foam  and  smoke, 
By  tempests  plunged  along  from  steep  to  steep. 
Bounds  to  the  clouds,  or  dashes  down  the  deep. 
Ye  angels  !  guard  her  thi'ough  the  stormy  scene, 
Till  the  gay  rainbow  arch  the  heavens  serene. 

But,  0  my  Muse  !  swift  must  the  time  come  on, 
When,  fresh  inspired,  and  fervid  from  the  sun. 
The  flagi-ant  stranger  shapes  a  different  path. 
And  from  its  annual  orbit  drags  the  earth. 
Ye  fancy,  mortals  !  distant  as  ye  are. 
All  calm  and  placid  round  the  sailing  star. 
In  gentle  rays  serenely  gleams  the  head, 
And  easy  lustre  through  the  train  is  spread : 
Ah !  ye  perceive  not  what  loud  tumult  reigns 
Through  the  hot  regions  of  its  wild  domains  ; 
What  hideous  thunder  the  wild  ether  shocks. 
Of  tumbling  mountains,  and  of  crasliing  rooks  : 
Fierce  seas  of  flame  beat  round  the  burning  shores. 
And  every  tempest  raves,  and  every  furnace  roars. 
To  this  devoted  earth  it  marches  on. 
And  midnight  blazes  with  the  glare  of  noon  : 
Big  and  more  big,  it  arches  all  the  air, 
A  vault  of  fluid  brass  the  skies  appear. 


142  BOSTON    EVENING    POST. 

From  their  foundations  where  they  ancient  stood, 
Down  rush  the  mountains  in  a  finming  flood  : 
The  minerals  pour  tlieir  melted  l)Owels  out, 
The  rocks  run  down,  the  flying  rivers  spout ; 
The  earth  dissolves  through  its  disjointed  frame. 
Its  clouds  all  lighten,  and  its  TF'tnas  flame  : 
The  sea  exhales,  and  in  long  volumes  hurled, 
Follows  the  wandering  globe  from  world  to  world  ; 
Now  at  the  sun  it  glows,  now  steers  its  flight 
Through  the  cold  deserts  of  eteraal  night. 
Warns  every  creature  through  its  trackless  road, 
The  fate  of  sinners  and  the  ^vrath  of  GOD. 

No  wonder  that  "  timorous  people,  and  especially 
women/'  were  frightened  out  of  their  wits,  if  they  read 
much  of  such  subhme  nonsense  as  this  poem. 

In  1748,  during  the  war  between  Enghmd  and  Spain, 
a  Spanish  ship,  captured  by  an  English  cruiser,  was  sent 
into  Boston.  Among  other  articles  in  the  captured 
vessel,  were  several  bales  of  Bulls  or  Iiuhilgencies,  issued 
by  the  Pope,  and  })rinted  on  one  side  of  a  small  sheet. 
Fleet  purchased  a  large  quantity  of  them  at  a  low  price, 
and  printed  songs  and  ballads  on  the  back  of  them.  In 
the  Evening  Post  he  advertised  them,  as  follows  :  — 
"  Choice  Pennsylvania  Tobacco  Paper  to  be  sold  by  the 
Publisher  of  this  Paper,  at  the  Heart  and  Crown  ;  where 
may  also  be  had  the  BULLS  or  Indulgencies  of  the 
present  Pope  Urban  VIII.  either  by  the  single  Bull, 
Quire,  or  Ream,  at  a  much  cheaper  Rate  than  they  can 
be  purchased  of  the  French  or  Spanish  Priests,  and  yet 
will  be  warranted  to  be  of  the  same  Advantage  to  the 
Possessors." 

Thomas  Fleet,  the  proprietor  and  editor  of  the 
Evening  Post,  died  on  the  twenty-first  of  July,  1758, 
having   nearly   completed    seventy-three   years   of   age. 


THOMAS    FLEET.  143 

He  was  the  son  of  Thomas  Fleet,  of  Tillstock,  in  the 
county  of  Shropshire,  Eni^Umd,  and  was  born  in  that 
place,  on  the  eighth  of  September,  1685.  He  served 
an  apprenticeship  to  the  printing  business  at  Bristol,  and 
worked  as  a  journeyman  in  that  place.  While  he  was 
employed  there  in  that  capacity,  the  notorious  Dr. 
Sacheverell  passed  through  Bristol,  on  his  "  tour  of  tri- 
umph," after  having  undergone  his  sentence  of  suspen- 
sion from  the  performance  of  his  clerical  functions.  The 
Doctor  was  carried  in  the  procession  on  men's  shoulders, 
amidst  the  waving  of  flags,  the  display  of  handkerchiefs, 
and  the  shouts  and  huzzas  of  the  populace.  As  the 
procession  approached  the  house  where  Fleet  was  at 
work,  he,  (though  he  felt  no  interest  in  the  affair,)  in 
mere  sport,  hung  a  halter  on  a  pole  and  waved  it  from  a 
window.  This  was  considered  as  a  signal  of  contempt, 
and  caused  an  attack  on  the  house.  Stones  and  other 
missiles  were  hurled  at  the  windows  ;  the  doors  were 
broken  in,  and  search  was  made  for  the  offender,  —  who, 
in  the  mean  time,  had  gone  to  the  top  of  the  house,  and 
passing  from  the  roof  of  one  house  to  another,  at  length 
descended  into  an  unfrequented  street,  and  made  his 
escape.  He  absented  himself  for  some  time.  Supposing 
that  his  offence  might  be  forgotten,  he  returned  to  his 
employment,  but  found  that  he  was  still  likely  to  get 
into  trouble.  He  thought  that  his  personal  safety  re- 
quired that  he  should  emigrate  ;  and,  accordingly,  he 
went  on  board  a  vessel  bound  to  America,  and  landed 
in  Boston,  in  1712. 

Soon  after  his  arrival.  Fleet  opened  a  printing-house 
in  Pudding-lane,  (now  Devonshire-street,)  and  carried 
on  the  printing  of  ballads,  pamphlets,  and  small  books 


144  BOSTON    EVENING    POST. 

for  children.  He  was  induslrious  and  frugal,  and 
acquired  property.  In  1731,  he  rented  a  new  brick 
building,  on  the  northerly  corner  of  Water-street  and 
Cornhiil,  (now  Washington-street,)  which  he  afterwards 
purchased,  and  in  which  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  The  price  he  paid  for  this  estate  was  about 
^'2200  !  The  house  was  spacious,  and  afforded  rooms 
sufficient  for  the  accommodation  of  his  family,  and  ^or 
the  transaction  of  his  business.  To  his  occupation  as  a 
printer  and  bookseller,  he  added  that  of  an  auctioneer, 

—  of  w  hich  he  gave  notice  in  the  News-Letter  of  31arch 

7,  1731,  as  follows  :  — 

This  is  to  give  Notice  to  all  Gentlemen,  Merchants,  Shopkeepers  and 
others,  that  Thomas  Fk-et  of  Boston,  Printer,  (who  formerly  kept  his 
Printing  House  in  Pudding  Lane  but  is  now  removed  into  Cornhiil  at 
the  sign  of  the  Heart  ^-  Croicn,  near  the  lower  end  of  School  Street)  is 
willing  to  undertake  the  Sale  of  Books,  Household  Goods,  Wearing 
Apparel,  or  any  other  Merchandize,  by  Vendue,  or  Auction.  The  said 
Fleet  having  a  large  &  commodious  Front  Chamber  fit  for  this  Business, 
and  a  Talent  well  known  and  approved,  doubts  not  of  giving  entire 
Satisfaction  to  such  as  may  employ  him  in  it ;  he  hereby  engaging  to 
make  it  appear  that  this  Service  may  be  perfonned  with  more  Conven- 
ience and  less  Charge  at  a  private  House  well  situated,  than  at  a  Tav- 
ern. And  for  farther  Encouragement,  said  Fleet  promises  to  make  up 
Accompts  with  the  Owners  of  the  Goods  Sold  by  lum,  in  a  few  Days 
after  the  sale  thereof. 

The  following  anecdote,  —  related  by  Mr.  Thomas, 

—  if  true,  proves  that  Fleet  would  not  lose  a  joke, 
though  he  might  enjoy  it  at  the  expense  of  the  feelings 
of  others  :  — "  The  members  of  his  family,  though 
worthy  and  good  people,  were  not  remarkable  for  per- 
sonal beauty,  and  he  sometimes  indulged  in  a  joke  at 
their  expense.  He  once  invited  a  friend  to  dine  with 
him  on  Pouts,  —  a  kind  of  fish,  of  which  he  knew  the 
gentleman    was    remarkably    fond.     When    the    dinner 


THOMAS    AND    JOHN    FLEET. 


145 


appeared,  the  guest  remarked  that  the  Pouts  were  want- 
ing. "  O  no,  (said  Fleet,)  only  look  at  my  wife  and 
daughters  !  "  * 

On  the  death  of  Fleet,  he  was  succeeded  by  his  sons 
Thomas  and  John,  who  had  learned  the  printing  business 
of  him.  They  formed  a  partnership,  which  continued 
till  the  death  of  Thomas,  in  March,  1797.  They  were 
born  in  Boston,  and  received  a  common  school  educa- 
tion. They  were  skillful  and  correct  printers,  and  were 
much  respected  as  good  citizens,  and  men  of  integrity 
and  punctuality  in  all  their  dealings. 

On  assuming  the  proprietorship  of  the  Evening  Post, 
T.  &.  J.  Fleet  introduced  at  the  head  a  cut  representing 
the  sign,  which  their  father  had  placed  over  his  door :  f 


*  At  his  drath,  Fleet  left  a  widow,  three  sons,  and  two  daughters.  One  son  and 
the  daughters  were  never  married.  The  first  son,  William,  was  a  sea-captain  and 
rnerohaiit,  and  died  in  1787,  leaving  children  ;  —  one  of  whom  was  married  to 
Andrew  Oliver,  a  hatter,  of  Roston.  She  was  the  mother  of  William  Oliver,  late 
of  Dorchester,  merchant,  who  left  all  his  property,  —  more  than  $  110,000,  — after 
the  death  of  two  sisters,  to  the  Asylum  for  the  Blind  and  the  Massachusetts  Gen- 
eral Hospital. 

t  This  ent  remained  at  the  head  of  the  paper  till  the  pnblication  was  discontinued 
in  April,  1775.  Tin-  sign  was  afterwards  changed  to  ihe  Bible  and  Heart: — a  sign 
well  remembered  by  many  persons  now  living. 

VOL.     I.  13 


146  BOSTON    EVENING    POST. 

The  paper  was  conducted  on  the  principles  established 
by  the  father ;  and  through  the  exciting  period,  in  which 
it  was  in  possession  of  the  sons,  maintained  its  character 
as  an  independent  journal.  The  political  communica- 
tions were  numerous,  and  both  Whigs  and  Tories  seemed 
privileged  to  lash  each  other  in  its  columns.  The  Tories 
took  advantage  of  the  privilege  to  abuse  the  writers  in 
Edes  and  Gill's  Boston  Gazette,  to  an  extent  that  was 
hardly  to  have  been  expected,  if  the  Fleets  were  in  full 
communion  with  the  Whig  party.  There  is,  however, 
no  partiality  to  the  Tories  discoverable  in  their  editorial 
notices  of  the  stirring  incidents  that  marked  the  few 
years  immediately  preceding  the  Revolution. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Post,  August  22,  1768,  says 
the  following  song  was  much  in  vogue,  and  was  heard 
resounding  in  almost  all  companies  in  town,  and  by  way 
of  eminence  was  called  "  The  Liberty  Song."  He 
requests  its  pubfication,  "  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole 
continent  of  America  :  "  —  * 

To  the  Tune  of  Hearts  of  Oak. 

Come  join  hand  in  hand,  brave  Americans  all, 
And  rouse  jour  bold  hearts  at  fair  Liberty's  call ; 
No  tjTannous  acts  shall  suppress  your  just  claim. 
Or  stain  with  dishonor  America's  name. 
In  Freedom  we  're  bom,  and  in  Freedom  we  '11  live  ; 
Our  purses  are  ready. 
Steady,  Friends,  steady, 
Not  as  Slaves,  but  as  Freemen,  our  money  we  '11  give. 

Our  worthy  Forefathers  —  let 's  give  them  a  cheer  — 
To  climates  unknown  did  courageously  steer ; 


*  This  song  was  wriuen  by  John  Dickinson,  of  Pennsylvania,  the  author  of  the 
celebrated  Farmer's  Letters.  It  was  first  published  in  the  Boston  Gazette,  July  18, 
1768.     See  Tudor's  Life  of  James  Otis,  p.  322,  and  Appendix,  p.  501. 


THOMAS    AND    JOHN    FLEET.  147 

Through  oceans  to  deserts  for  Freedom  they  came, 
And,  dying,  bequeathed  us  their  freedom  and  fame  : 
In  Freedom  we  're  bom,  &c. 

Their  generous  bosoms  all  dangers  despised, 
So  highly,  so  wisely,  their  birthrights  they  prized  ; 
We  '11  keep  what  they  gave  —  we  will  piously  keep, 
Nor  fmstrate  their  toils  on  the  land  or  the  deep. 
In  Freedom  we  're  bom,  &c. 

The  Tree  their  own  hands  had  to  Liberty  reared 
They  lived  to  behold  growing  strong  and  revered ; 
"With  transport  they  cried,  —  "  Now  our  wishes  we  gain, 
For  our  children  shall  gather  the  fruits  of  our  pain." 
In  Freedom  we  're  bom,  &c. 

Swarms  of  placemen  and  pensioners  soon  will  appear, 
Like  locusts  deforming  the  charms  of  the  year ; 
Suns  vainly  wUl  rise,  showers  vainly  descend. 
If  we  are  to  drudge  for  what  others  will  spend. 
In  Freedom  we  're  bom,  &c. 

Then  join  hand  in  hand,  brave  Americans  all ; 
By  uniting  we  stand,  by  dividing  we  fall ; 
In  so  righteous  a  cause  let  us  hope  to  succeed. 
For  Heaven  approves  of  each  generous  deed. 
In  Freedom  we  're  bom,  &c. 

All  ages  shall  speak,  with  amaze  and  applause, 
Of  the  courage  we  'U  show  in  support  of  our  laws  ; 
To  DIE  we  can  hear  —  but  to  serve  we  disdain, 
For  shame  is  to  Freemen  more  dreadful  than  pain. 
In  Freedom  we  're  bom,  &c. 

This  bumper  I  crown  for  our  Sovereign's  health, 
And  this  for  Britannia's  glory  and  wealth  ; 
That  wealth  and  that  glory  immortal  may  be, 
If  site  is  but  just,  and  we  are  but  free. 
In  Freedom  we  're  bom,  &c. 

A  few  weeks  after  the  publication  of  this  Song,  the 

following  Parody   appeared  in  the  Post  —  but  whether 

inserted  by  request  of  those,  who  approved  its  temper 

and  style,  or  to  expose  that  temper  to  the  indignation  of 

the  Whigs,  does  not  appear. 


148  BOSTON    EVENING    POST. 

A  PARODY 
Upon  a  well-known  Liberty  Song. 
[Said  to  be  in  great  vogue  at  a  certain  Fortress,  where  it  was  composed.]* 
Come  shake  jour  dull  noddles,  ye  Pumpkins,  and  bawl, 
And  o^vn  that  you're  mad  at  fair  Liberty's  call ; 
No  scandalous  conduct  can  add  to  your  shame, 
Condemned  to  dishonor,  inherit  the  fame. 

Li  Folly  you're  l)om,  and  in  Folly  you'll  live, 
To  madness  still  ready. 
And  stupidly  steady, 

Not  as  men,  but  as  monkej'S,  the  tokens  you  give. 
Your  grandsire,  Old  Satan,  now  give  him  a  cheer, 
AYould  act  like  yourselves,  and  as  wildly  would  steer; 
So  great  an  example  in  prospect  still  keep, 
"Whilst  you  are  alive,  Old  Belza  may  sleep. 

In  Folly  you're  bom,  &c. 
Such  villains,  such  rascals  all  dangers  despise, 
And  stick  not  at  mobbing  when  mischief's  the  prize; 
They  burst  through  all  barriers,  and  piously  keep 
Such  chattels  and  goods  the  ^ile  rascals  can  sweep. 

In  Folly  you're  born,  &c. 
The  Tree,  which  the  wisdom  of  Justice  hath  reared. 
Should  be  stout  for  tlicir  use,  and  by  no  means  be  spared; 
"\Mien  fuddled  with  rum  the  mad  sots  to  restrain, 
Sure  Tyburn  will  sober  the  wretches  again. 

In  Folly  you're  bom,  &c. 
Your  brats  and  your  hunters  by  no  means  forget. 
But  feather  your  nests,  for  they're  bare  enough  yet ; 

•  This  Parody  was  also  published  in  the  Boston  Gazette,  Sept.  26,  1768,  —  intro- 
duced by  the  following  notice: — Last  Tuesday,  the  following  Song  made  its 
appearance  from  a  garret  at  Castle  W m."     Immediately  following  it  is  the 

following  Letter : 

Castle  William,  Doston  Harbor,  Sept.  25,  1768. 

Messieurs  Edes  &  Gill, 

Having  been  told  that  you  intended  to  publish  a  Song  in  your  Newspaper,  called 
a  Parody  on  the  Song  of  Liberty,  under  my  name  as  the  Author  of  it,  I  think 
proper  to  forewarn  you  from  publishing  such  a  falsity,  or  any  other  thing  under 
my  name,  without  my  authority  ;  and  if  you  persist  in  doing  it  in  this,  or  any 
other  instance,  it  shall  be  at  your  peril.  I  am,  Your  humble  Serv't, 

Hen.  Huttox. 

The  editors  add  in  a  note  —  As  we  have  never  published  any  thing,  and  never 
intend  to,  under  the  name,  much  less  under  the  Authobitv  of  Mr.  HtUton,  we 
should  have  been  glad,  if  he  had  explained  his  idea  of  the  word  persist. 


THOMAS  AND  JOHN  FLEET.  149 

From  the  insolent  rich  sure  the  poor  knave  may  steal, 
Who  ne'er  in  his  life  knew  the  scent  of  a  meal. 

In  Folly  you're  horn,  &c. 
When  in  your  own  cellars  you've  quaffed  a  regale, 
Then  drive,  tug  and  stink,  the  next  house  to  assail ; 
For  short  is  your  harvest,  nor  long  shall  you  know. 
The  pleasm-e  of  reaping  what  other  men  sow. 

In  Folly  you're  born,  &c. 
Then  plunder,  my  lads,  for  when  red  coats  appear, 
You'll  melt,  like  the  locust  when  winter  is  near; 
Gold  vainly  wiU  glow.  Silver  vainly  will  shine. 
But,  faith,  you  must  skulk,  you  no  more  shall  purloin. 

In  Folly  you're  bom,  &c. 
Then  nod  your  poor  numskidls,  ye  Pumpkins,  and  bawl. 
The  De'il  take  such  rascals,  fools,  whoresons,  and  all ; 
Your  cursed  old  trade  of  puiioining  must  cease, 
The  di-ead  and  the  curse  of  aU  order  and  peace. 

In  Folly  you're  horn,  &c. 
All  ages  shall  speak  with  contempt  and  amaze, 
Of  the  vilest  banditti  that  swarmed  in  these  days ; 
In  defiance  of  halters,  of  whips,  and  of  chains. 
The  rogues  would  run  riot,  — fools  for  their  pains. 

In  Folly  you're  born,  &c. 
Gulp  down  your  last  dram,  for  the  gallows  now  groans. 
And  over  depressed  her  lost  empire  bemoans  ; 
While  we  quite  transported  and  happy  shall  be. 
From  mobs,  knaves,  and  villains,  protected  and  free. 

In  Folly  you're  bom,  &c. 

The  Post  of  the  next  week  contained 

THE  PARODY  PARODIZED. 

Or  the  Massachusetts  Liberty  Song. 

Come  swallow  your  bumpers,  ye  Tories !  and  roar, 
That  the  Sons  of  fair  Freedom  are  hampered  once  more  ; 
But  know,  no  such  furies  our  spirits  can  tame. 
Nor  a  host  of  oppressoi-s  shall  smother  the  flame. 
In  Freedom  we're  born,  and,  like  sons  of  the  brave, 
Will  never  surrender. 
But  swear  to  defend  her. 
And  scorn  to  survive,  if  unable  to  save. 

13* 


150  BOSTON    EVENING    POST. 

Our  grandsires,  blest  heroes !  we'll  give  them  a  tear, 

Nor  sully  their  honors  by  stooping  to  fear ; 

Through  deaths  and  through  dangers  their  trophies  they  won ; 

We  dare  be  their  i-ivals,  nor  will  be  outdone. 

In  Freedom,  &c. 
Let  tyrants  and  minions  presume  to  despise, 
Encroaeh  on  our  rights,  and  make  Freedom  their  prize, 
The  fruits  of  their  rapine  they  never  shall  keep ; 
Though  vengeance  may  nod,  yet  how  short  is  her  sleep ! 

In  Freedom,  &c. 
The  Tree,  which  proud  Ilaman  for  Mordecai  reared, 
Stands  recorded,  that  Virtue  endangered  is  spared; 
That  rogues  whom  no  l)ands  and  no  laws  can  restrain, 
Must  be  stript  of  their  honors,  and  humbled  again. 

In  Freedom,  &c. 
Our  wives  and  our  babes,  still  protected,  shall  know, 
Those  who  dare  to  be  free,  shall  forever  be  so ; 
On  these  arms  and  these  breasts  they  may  safely  rely, 
For  in  Freedom  we'll  live,  or  like  heroes  we'll  die, 

In  Freedom,  &c. 
Ye  insolent  tyrants  !  who  wish  to  enthrall, 
Ye  minions,  ye  placemen,  pimps,  pensioners,  all ; 
How  short  is  your  triumph !  how  feeble  your  trust ! 
Your  honors  must  wither,  and  nod  to  the  dust. 

In  Freedom,  &c. 
Wlien  oppressed  and  reproached,  our  King  we  implore, 
Still  firmly  persuaded  our  rights  he'll  restore ; 
AVlien  our  hearts  l)cat  to  arms  to  defend  a  just  right. 
Our  monarch  miles  there,  and  forbids  us  to  fight. 

In  Freedom,  &e. 
Not  the  glitter  of  arms,  nor  the  dread  of  a  fray, 
Could  make  us  submit  to  their  chains  for  a  day; 
Witldield  by  affection,  on  Britons  we  call,  — 
Prevent  the  fierce  conflict  which  threatens  your  fall. 

In  Freedom,  &c. 
All  ages  shall  speak  with  amaze  and  applause. 
On  the  prudence  we  show  in  support  of  our  cause ; 
Assured  of  our  safety,  a  Bruns\vick  still  reigns. 
Whose  free  loyal  subjects  are  sti'angers  to  chains. 

In  Freedom,  &c. 


THOMAS    AND    JOHN    FLEET.  151 

Then  join  hand  in  hand,  hrave  Americans  all ! 
To  be  free  is  to  live ;  to  be  slaves  is  to  fall ; 
Has  the  land  snch  a  dastard,  as  scorns  not  a  lord, 
Wlio  dreads  not  a  fetter  much  more  than  a  sword  ! 
In  Freedom  we're  born,  and,  like  sons  of  the  brave, 
Will  never  surrender. 
But  swear  to  defend  her. 
And  scorn  to  survive  if  unable  to  save. 

The  practice  of  publishing  for  writers  on  both  sides  of 
the  great  question  which  then  agitated  the  whole  country, 
was  persisted  in,  but  evidently  created  dissatisfaction 
among  the  Whigs.  In  the  paper  of  the  10th  of  March, 
1775,  the  following  notice  was  published  :  — 

Whereas  it  hath  been  hinted  in  several  letters  lately  received  from 
England,  that  one  or  more  printers  of  the  public  newspapers  in  the 
principal  towns  in  America  are  hired,  or  rather  bribed,  (from  a  fund  said 
to  be  established  for  that  use)  for  the  vile  purpose  of  publishing  pieces 
in  their  respective  papers  tending  to  favor  despotism  and  the  present 
arbitrary  and  tyrannical  proceedings  of  the  ministry  relative  to  Amer- 
ica ;  The  publishers  of  the  Boston  Evening  Post  (whose  papers  have 
always  been  conducted  with  the  utmost  freedom  and  impartiality)  do, 
for  themselves,  thus  publicly  declare,  that  no  application  has  ever  been 
made  to  them  to  prostitute  their  paper  to  such  a  base  and  mean  purpose ; 
and  should  they  hereafter  be  applied  to  for  that  design,  they  shall 
despise  the  offer  and  those  who  make  it,  with  the  greatest  contempt ; 
not  but  that  their  paper  shall,  as  usual,  be  open  for  the  insertion  of  .all 
pieces  that  shall  tend  to  amuse  or  instruct,  or  to  the  promoting  of  useful 
knowledge  and  the  general  good  of  mankind,  as  they  themselves  (who 
are  the  sole  directors  and  proprietors  thereof)  shall  think  prudent, 
profitable,  or  entertaining  to  their  numerous  readers. 

This  proclamation  of  neutrality  was  unavailing,  but 
tended  to  increase  rather  than  diminish  the  discontent  of 
the  public.  In  a  few  weeks  after,  viz.  on  the  24th 
of  April,  the  Post  contained  the  following  notice:  — 
"  The  Printers  of  the  Boston  Evening  Post  hereby  in- 
form the  Town  that  they  shall  desist  publishing  the 
papers  after  this  day,  till  matters  are  in  a  more  settled 


152  BOSTON    EVENING    POST. 

State."     Just  preceding  this  notice  is  the  following  para- 
graph :  — 

The  unlucky  transactions  of  thu  last  week  are  so  variously  related, 
that  we  shall  not  at  present  undertake  to  give  any  particular  account 
thereof. 

The  "unlucky  transactions"  here  alluded  to,  it  will 
be  perceived,  were  the  battles  at  Lexington  and  Con- 
cord. With  that  declaration  the  publication  of  the  Post 
was  suspended  and  never  revived. 

Thomas  Fleet,  the  second  of  the  name,  and  the 
senior  partner  in  the  house  of  T.  St.  J.  Fleet,  was  born 
April  10,  1732,  and  died,  single,  March  16,  1797,  aged 
65  years.  John,  the  other  partner,  was  born  September 
25,  1734,  and  died  March  6,  1806,  aged  71J  years.* 
He  had  a  son,  Thomas,  who  was  a  printer,  and  con- 
nected in  the  business  with  his  father,  but  gave  it  up 
soon  after  his  father  died.  He  died  a  bachelor,  in  1827, 
about  59  years  of  age.  These  Fleets,  —  father,  sons, 
and  grandson,  —  conducted  the  printing  business,  through 
a  period  of  seventy-five  years,  in  the  building  before 
mentioned,  at  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Water- 
streets.     The  estate  is  still  in  possession  of  the  heirs. 

When  they  discontinued  the  publication  of  the  Eve- 
ning Post,  the  Fleets  pursued  their  business  of  printing 
in  all  other  respects,  and  executed  a  large  share  of  the 
joh  work  of  the  town.  At  one  time  they  did  all  the 
printing  required  for  the  General  Court,  and  County  and 
Town   officers,    and   acquired   what   was   considered   a 

■^This  John  Fleet  had  also  a  son  John,  who  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
in  1780,  —  was  a  respectable  pliysiciaii  in  Boston,  and  died  unmarried,  in  Janu- 
ary 1813,  aged  47.  lie  hail  al?o  three  daughters,  two  of  whom  were  married  to 
Ephraim  Eliot,  —  long  known  as  a  respectable  apothecary  in  Ilanover-street :  — 
the  other,  born  April  5,  177-2,  is  still  (1850)  living,  enjoying,  as  many  of  the  Fleet 
fiiniily  had  before  enjoyed,  an  old  age  of  unblessed  celibacy. 


THOMAS    AND    JOHN    FLEET.  153 

handsome  property.  They  were  also  employed  to  print 
most  of  the  valuable  works,  which  were  published  dur- 
ing the  War,  and  a  few  years  that  immediately  suc- 
ceeded it.  The  first  edition  of  Hutchinson's  History  of 
Massachusetts  was  printed  at  their  press.  In  1779, 
they  published  the  first  number  of  the  "  Pocket  Alma- 
nack and  Fleet's  Annual  Register,"  which  was  con- 
tinued annually,  and  met  with  extensive  sales,  till  the 
year  1801,  when  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Manning 
&£  Loring  and  John  West. 

Soon  after  the  evacuation  of  Boston  by  the  British 
troops,  the  Fleets  removed  the  sign  of  the  "  Crown  and 
Heart,"  which  had  been  erected  by  their  father,  and  put 
in  its  place  the  "  Bible  and  Heart ;  "  and  this  remained 
on  the  building,  till  the  final  relinquishment  of  their 
business,  and  the  removal  of  the  family,  in  1808.  Many 
persons  expressed  a  desire  that  it  should  be  preserved, 
but  it  was  found  to  be  much  weather-beaten  and  de- 
cayed, and  fell  to  pieces  in  the  hands  of  the  workmen 
who  removed  it. 


THE  BOSTON  WEEKLY  POST-BOY. 


The  first  number  of  this  paper  was  issued  in  October, 
1734,  by  Ellis  Huske,  who  had  just  been  appointed  post- 
master of  Boston.  No  printer's  name  appeared  in  the 
imprint,  during  its  whole  existence,  which  was  about 
twenty  years.  The  latest  number  that  is  preserved  in 
the  Historical  Library,  was  published  in  December, 
1754,  in  which  there  is  no  notice  of  any  intended  dis- 
continuance. Mr.  Thomas  thinks  the  publication  was 
continued  till  some  time  in  1755.  The  character  of 
this  paper  did  not  differ  essentially  from  that  of  its  pre- 
decessors, —  the  News-Letter  and  the  Gazette.  It  was 
simply  a  weekly  issue  of  extracts  from  English  papers, 
and  a  few  articles  of  intelligence,  concerning  trade  and 
navigation,  and  a  brief  notice  of  the  common  occurrences 
of  the  week.     It  does  not  appear  that  Huske  became 


ELLIS    HUSKE.  155 

involv^ed  in  any  controversy  with  his  coteraporaries  of 
the  press,  or  in  any  exciting  disputes  that  might  have 
existed  in  regard  to  matters  of  pubhc  interest.  The 
paper  has  no  pretension  to  a  Hterary  character,  and  had 
rarely  a  contribution  from  a  correspondent. 

In  relation  to  the  personal  history  of  Huske,  I  have 
not  been  able  to  discover  any  thing  more  than  what  is 
stated  by  Mr.  Thomas.  "  He  was  afterward  appointed 
deputy-postmaster-general  for  the  Colonies.  He  had  a 
son,  bred  a  merchant  in  Boston,  who  was  afterward  a 
member  of  the  British  Parliament.  He  was  superseded 
in  the  department  of  the  post-office  by  Franklin  and 
Hunter." 

The  devices  at  the  head  of  this  paper  were  the  same 
as  those  used  in  the  first  Boston  Gazette,  viz.  the  Ship 
on  the  left  of  the  title,  and  the  Post-Boy  on  the  right. 
The  Post-Boy  was  also  used  by  Green  h  Russell,  when 
they  began  the  Weekly  Advertiser. 


THE  INDEPENDENT  ADVERTISER. 


The  first  number  of  this  paper  was  published  in  Bos- 
ton, January  4,  1748,  by  Rogers  k,  Fowle.  It  was 
printed  on  a  half-sheet  of  crown  size,  two  pages  folio  ;  — 
the  head  embellished  with  a  cut,  the  device  of  which 
Mr.  Thomas  thus  explains:  —  "Britannia  liberating  a 
bird,  confined  by  a  cord  to  the  arms  of  France.  Bri- 
tannia is  represented  sitting  ;  the  arms  of  France  lying  on 
the  ground  before  her  ;  the  bird  is  on  the  wing,  but 
being  impeded  by  the  cord,  one  end  of  which  is  fastened 
to  the  arms  of  France  and  the  other  to  the  bird,  Bri- 
tannia is  in  the  act  of  cutting  the  cord  with  a  pair  of 
shears,  that  the  bird  may  escape." 

The  opening  address  it  will  be  seen,  is  written  in  a 
better  style,  than  had  been  usual  in  that  department  of 
the  newspaper  press  :  — 


ROGERS    AND    FOWLE.  157 

Tlie  Publishers  to  the  Readers. 
Gentlemen. 

Upon  the  encouragement  we  have  already  received,  and  agreeable  to 
our  printed  proposals,  The  Independent  Advertiser  now  makes  its  en- 
trance into  the  world,  and  as  it  will  doubtless  be  expected  ixpon  its  first 
appearance  that  we  should  more  fully  explain  our  design  and  show 
what  the  public  may  expect  from  it,  we  would  accordingly  observe,  That 
we  shall  by  no  means  endeavor  to  recommend  this  our  paper  by  depre- 
ciating the  merit  of  other  performances  of  the  same  kind,  neither  would 
we  flatter  the  expectations  of  the  Public  by  any  pompous  promises 
which  we  may  not  be  likely  to  fulfil ;  but  this  our  Readers  may  depend 
upon ;  that  we  shall  take  the  utmost  care  to  procure  the  freshest  and 
best  intelligence,  and  publish  it  in  such  order,  as  that  every  reader  may 
have  the  clearest  and  most  perfect  understanding  of  it ;  and  for  the  ben- 
efit of  those  who  are  unacquainted  with  the  geography  of  foreign  parts, 
we  may  insert  such  descriptions  as  may  enlighten  them  therein.  But 
as  we  cannot  expect  to  gratify  our  inquisitive  cixstomers  with  a  constant 
supply  of  news,  (especially  in  this  barren  season,)  we  propose  occasion- 
ally to  insert  such  valuable  extracts  from  our  most  celebi-ated  writers, 
which  may  be  most  likely  to  improve  or  entertain  our  readers.  And 
as  our  present  political  state  affords  matter  for  a  variety  of  thoughts,  of 
peculiar  importance  to  the  people  of  New  England,  we  propose  to 
insert  every  thing  of  that  nature  that  may  be  pertinently  and  decently 
wrote.  For  ourselves,  we  declare  we  are  of  no  party,  neither  shall  we 
promote  the  private  and  narrow  designs  of  any  such.  We  are  ourselves 
free,  and  our  paper  shall  be  free,  — free  as  the  constitution  we  enjoy,  — 
free  to  ti-uth,  good  manners  and  good  sense,  and  at  the  same  time  free 
from  all  licentious  reflections,  insolence  and  abuse.  Whatsoever  may 
be  adapted  to  state  and  defend  the  rights  and  liberties  of  mankind,  to 
advance  useful  knowledge  and  the  cause  of  virtue,  to  improve  the  trade, 
the  manufactures  and  the  Husbandry  of  the  country,  whatever  may 
tend  to  inspire  this  people  with  a  just  and  proper  sense  of  their  own 
condition,  to  point  out  to  them  their  true  interest,  and  rouse  them  to 
pursue  it ;  as  also  any  piece  of  wit  and  humor,  shall  at  all  times  find 
(free  of  charge)  a  most  welcome  reception.  And  although  we  do  not 
altogether  depend  upon  the  casual  benevolence  of  the  public  to  supply 
this  paper,  yet  we  will  thankfully  receive  every  thing  from  every  quarter 
conducing  to  the  good  of  the  public  and  our  general  design. 

The  Advertiser  was  devoted  chiefly  to  politics.    Most 
of  the  essays,  which  were  ably  written,  were  contribut- 
ed by  a  society  of  gentlemen,  associated  for  that  pur- 
14 


158  INDEPENDENT    ADVERTISER. 

pose,  among  whom  the  inflexible  Whig,  Samuel  Adams, 
was  prominent  and  influential. 

Rogers  &t  Fowle,  the  publishers  of  this  paper,  formed 
a  partnership  in  1742,  and  carried  on  the  printing  busi- 
ness on  a  scale  somewhat  larger  than  any  of  their  pre- 
decessors or  coteraporaries.  They  issued  a  number  oC 
volumes,  which  were  neatly  and  accurately  printed, — 
chiefly  on  their  own  account.  In  1743,  they  published 
the  first  number  of  the  American  Magazine,  —  in  its 
execution  equal  to  that  of  the  English  periodicals, — 
which  was  continued  three  years.  They  were  excellent 
workmen.  They  manufactured  ink  for  their  own  works, 
and  are  supposed  to  be  the  first  printers  in  America,  who 
were  successful  in  that  branch  of  domestic  manufacture. 
They  printed  an  edition  of  two  thousand  copies  of  the 
New  Testament  for  Daniel  Henchman,  —  the  first  im- 
pression of  that  book  in  English,  which  had  issued  from 
an  American  press.  In  1750,  about  two  years  from  the 
commencement  of  the  publication  of  the  Independent 
Advertiser,  Rogers  «fc  Fowle  dissolved  their  partnership, 
and  the  Advertiser  was  discontinued. 

Gamaliel  Rogers  served  his  apprenticeship  with 
Bartholomew  Green,  senior.  He  began  business  as  a 
printer,  in  1723,  and  printed  chiefly  for  the  booksellers. 
After  the  dissolution  of  his  partnership  with  Fowle,  he 
opened  a  printing-house  at  the  westerly  part  of  the  town, 
and  wrought  at  his  profession,  in  a  small  way  for  two  or 
three  years,  when  his  house  was  burned,  and  his  press 
and  most  of  his  types  destroyed.  His  property  being 
chiefly  lost,  he  gave  up  business  as  a  printer.  Dejected 
and  broken  in  spirit,  at  an  advanced  period  of  life,  he 
opened  a  shop  near  the  Old  South  meeting-house,  where 


DANIEL    FOWLE.  159 

he  supported  his  family  by  retaiHng  groceries  in  small 
quantities,  and  selling  a  few  pamphlets,  —  the  remnants 
of  the  stock  accumulated  in  more  prosperous  days.  "  He 
was  an  industrious,  sensible,  amiable  man,  and  a  good 
Christian."  Soon  after  the  battle  of  Bunker-Hill,  in 
1775,  when  Boston  was  in  possession  of  the  British 
troops,  and  besieged  by  the  provincial  army,  Rogers 
obtained  permission  of  the  British  commander  to  leave 
the  place.  He  removed  to  Ipswich,  in  the  county  of 
Essex,  and  died  there,  in  the  autumn  of  that  year,  aged 
seventy  years. 

Daniel  Fowle,  the  junior  partner  in  the  firm  of  Rogers 
&  Fowle,  was  born  in  Charlestown,  and  served  his 
apprenticeship  with  Samuel  Kneeland.  He  began  busi- 
ness as  a  printer  on  his  own  account,  in  1740.  Soon 
after  his  separation  from  Rogers,  in  1750,  he  opened  a 
printing-office  in  Ann-street,  where  he  kept  a  small  col- 
lection of  books  for  sale,  and  printed  a  number  of  pam- 
phlets. In  July,  1755,  a  pamphlet  made  its  appearance 
in  Boston,  of  which  Fowle  was  suspected  to  be  the 
printer,  and  on  that  suspicion  was  subjected  to  severe 
treatment.  The  pamphlet  was  entitled  "  The  Monster 
of  Monsters  :  a  true  and  faithful  Narrative  of  a  most 
remarkable  phenomenon  lately  seen  in  this  Metropolis  ; 
to  the  great  Surprize  and  Terror  of  His  Majesty's  good 
Subjects ;  humbly  dedicated  to  all  the  Virtuosi  of  New- 
England  :  By  Thomas  Thumb,  Esq*"  This  allegorical 
monster  appears  to  have  been  an  excise  law,  which  was 
on  its  passage  through  the  House  of  Representatives. 
It  was  said  to  have  made  its  first  appearance  in  an 
Assembly  of  Matrons,  where  it  was  received  with  great 
favor,  and  great  pains  taken  to  make  others  admire  it. 


160  DANIEL    rOWLE. 

A  number  of  speeches  were  reported  as  having  been 
made  by  the  principal  ladies  of  the  assembly ;  but 
whether  the  speeches  bore  any  resemblance  to  the  dis- 
cussions in  the  House  of  Representatives,  is  quite  doubt- 
ful. But  the  House  chose  to  make  an  appHcation  of 
the  remarks  to  several  of  its  members,  and 

Resolved,  That  the  pamphlet  entitled  TTie  Monster  of  Monsters,  is  a 
false,  scandalous  Libel,  reflecting  upon  the  proceedings  of  the  House 
in  general,  and  on  many  worthy  members  in  jiarticular,  in  breach  of  the 
privileges  thereof 

Ordered,  That  the  said  pamphlet  be  burnt  by  the  hands  of  the  com- 
mon Hangman,  below  the  Court-House  in  King-street,  Boston,  and 
that  the  Messenger  of  the  House  see  the  same  carried  into  execution. 

Resolved,  That  the  Messenger  of  the  House  do  fortliwith  take  into 
custody  Daniel  Fowle  of  Boston,  Printer,  wlio,  they  are  informed  was 
concerned  in  printing  and  publishing  the  said  pamphlet,  and  that  the 
Speaker  issue  his  warrant  for  that  purpose. 

In  pursuance  of  the  Speaker's  warrant,  on  the  24th 
of  October,  while  he  was  at  his  dinner,  Fowle  was 
arrested,  taken  to  the  House,  and  examined,  after  an 
hour's  confinement  in  the  lobby.  In  a  pamphlet,  entitled, 
"  A  Total  Eclipse  of  Liberty,"  written  and  published 
by  Fowle,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1755,  he  gives 
the  following  account  of  his  examination  :  — 

After  proper  com])liments  before  that  Grand  Assembly,  I  was  inter- 
rogated in  the  following  manner,  by  Mr.  Speaker,  viz.  Do  you  know  any 
thing  of  the  printinrj  of  this  1  After  looking  it  over  some  time,  I  said  it 
was  not  of  my  printing,  neither  had  I  any  such  letters  in  my  print-house. 
After  some  considerable  pause,  and  the  gentlemen  looking  at  one 
another,  I  was  asked.  Whether  I  knew  any  thing  relating  to  said  book  ?  I 
then  desired  the  opinion  of  the  House,  Whether  I  must  answer  to  that 
question.  But  notwithstanding  this  reasonable  request,  there  was  no 
vote  passed,  that  I  could  perceive,  except  three  or  four  gentlemen  said, 
Yes,  Yes,  very  earnestly :  Upon  which  I  informed  them  I  could  not  say, 
I  had  no  concern ;  for,  as  I  heard  there  was  such  a  pamphlet  to  sell,  I 
had  bought  two  dozen,  and  sold  them  out  of  my  shop,  and  should  not 
thought  any  harm,  if  I  had  sold  a  hundred  of  them.    This  brought  on 


DANIEL    FOWLE.  161 

the  following  questions  and  answers,  viz.  Who  did  you  Innj  them  of?  I 
replied,  they  were  sent,  I  thought,  hy  a  young  man,  but  could  not  tell 
his  name.  TT7io  did  he  live  with  ?  I  then  again  desired  the  opinion  of 
the  House,  Whether  I  was  obliged  to  tell  who  I  bought  of?  Three  or 
four  again  rose  up,  and  said,  /  must.  Upon  which  I  said  I  believed  the 
young  man  lived  with  Ma*.  Royal  Tyler.  It  was  then  demanded, 
Whether  I  had  any  conversation  luith  him  about  them  ?  I  replied,  I  believe 
I  might  in  the  same  manner  as  I  had  with  many  others,  not  that  I 
imagined  him  the  author,  nor  any  other  person,  for  I  never  agreed  with 
any  person  about  the  printing  of  it,  neither  was  it  ever  offered  to  me. 
I  was  then  asked.  Whether  any  of  my  hands  assisted  in  the  doing  of  it  ? 
I  believe  my  Negro  might,  as  he  sometimes  worked  for  my  brother.  I 
was  then  queried,  Wliether  my  brother  had  any  help  ?  I  said.  No.  Then 
a  gentleman  said,  Somebody  must  help  him,  for  one  could  not  print  alone. 
As  this  was  what  I  never  knew  before,  I  replied,  one  could  print,  and  I 
could  do  five  hundred  with  my  own  hands.  I  was  next  questioned. 
Whether  I  ever  saw  any  of  it  while  printing  ?  As  I  was  determined  to 
show  no  contempt  of  authority,  I  acknowledged  I  had  seen  some  of  it 
printing  off,  as  printers  transiently  go  into  one  another's  houses.  Wliose 
house  was  it  ?  I  think  it  was  my  brother's.  What  is  his  name  ? 
Zechariah.  Where  does  he  live  ?  Do\vn  Cross-street.  One  gentleman 
stood  up  and  said.  Some  time  ago  I  said  I  bought  but  two  dozen,  afterwards  / 
bought  a  hundred;  to  which  I  replied,  I  would  have  bought  a  hundred  if  I 
could  have  sold  them.  Another  then  stood  up,  and  said,  before  I  had  time 
to  answer.  You  do  not  know  when  you  lie  :  Upon  which  I  said, 
Begging  your  pardon.  Sir,  I  know  when  I  lie,  and  what  a  lie  is,  as  well 
as  yoirrself :  to  which  there  was  no  reply. 

Fowle  was  then  again  locked  up  for  three  hours  in 
the  upper  chamber  of  the  Court-house.  He  was  then 
taken  down  and  re-examined,  and  repeated  what  he  had 
said  before.  He  was  locked  up  in  the  garret,  a  third 
time,  and  kept  there  till  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock, 
when  he  was  removed  to  the  gaol.  According  to  his 
account  he  was  treated  with  great  harshness  and  inde- 
cency. On  the  28th,  he  was  taken  to  the  House  of 
Representatives  and  reprimanded  by  the  Speaker,  and 
an  order  was  issued  for  his  discharge  on  his  paying  the 
costs.  Not  complying  with  the  condition  he  was  returned 
14* 


162  DANIEL    FOWLE. 

to  the  gaol.  The  next  day  he  received  information  that 
his  wife  had  been  suffering  under  violent  agitation  on 
account  of  his  confinement,  and  was  pronounced  in  a 
dangerous  condition  by  a  doctor.  He  sent  a  message  to 
the  House  of  Representatives,  asking  to  be  permitted  to 
go  home  to  his  wife,  and  promising  to  be  ready  to  wait 
on  them  when  they  should  have  occasion  for  him.  He 
was  accordingly  discharged,  and  no  further  proceedings 
were  had  in  the  matter. 

Royal  Tyler  was  arrested  and  taken  before  the  House, 
but  declined  to  answer  any  interrogatories.  He  was 
committed  for  contempt,  but  was  released  on  a  promise 
to  appear  when  called  for. 

The  treatment  he  received  from  the  government  in- 
duced Fowle  to  leave  Massachusetts,  and  establish  a 
printing-office  in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.  In  the  following 
year,  1756,  he  commenced  the  publication  of  the  New- 
Hampshire  Gazette.  He  was  the  first  printer  that  set- 
tled in  that  state.  He  was  appointed  printer  to  the  gov- 
ernment, and  continued  in  business,  till  his  death,  which 
happened  in  June,  1787,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two. 

The  Negro,  mentioned  by  Fowle  in  his  examination, 
was  called  Primus.  Mr.  Thomas  says,  —  "  He  was  an 
African.  T  well  remember  him  ;  he  worked  at  press, 
with  or  without  an  assistant ;  he  continued  to  do  press- 
work,  until  prevented  by  age.  He  went  to  Portsmouth 
with  his  master,  and  there  died,  being  more  than  ninety 
years  of  age  ;  about  fifty  of  which  he  was  a  press-man." 


THE  BOSTON  GAZETTE,   OR  WEEKLY 
ADVERTISER. 


After  the  dissolution  of  the  partnership  of  Kneeland 
St  Green,  Kneeland  began  the  publication  of  a  new 
paper,  with  the  title  of  the  Boston  Gazette,  or  Weekly- 
Advertiser.  The  first  number  was  issued  January  3, 
1753,  and  was  avowedly  a  continuation  of  the  old  Bos- 
ton Gazette  and  Weekly  Journal.  It  was  printed  on  a 
half  sheet  of  crown  quarto.  The  title  was  embellished 
with  a  cut,  which  had  been  originally  intended  to  illus- 
trate one  of  TEsop's  Fables  ;  but  after  the  first  year,  it 
was  exchanged  for  that  which  stands  at  the  head  of  this 
article.  This  was  better  executed  than  any  cut  that  had 
before  appeared  in  any  newspaper.  During  the  first 
year,  no  name  of  printer  or  publisher  appeared  in  the 
imprint.  At  the  close  of  that  year  Kneeland  inserted 
his  name,  as  printer.     The  paper  was  handsomely  print- 


164         BOSTON  GAZETTE,  OR  WEEKLY  ADVERTISER. 

ed.  It  contained  nothing  original  except  occasionally  a 
paragraph  of  intelligence.  It  was  discontinued  in  March, 
1755,  on  account,  as  was  stated,  of  the  provincial  stamp 
act,  and  was  immediately  succeeded  by  Edes  Si  Gill's 
Boston  Gazette. 


THE  BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY 
JOURNAL. 


On  the  seventh  of  April,  1755,  —  one  week  after  S. 
Kneeland  relinquished  the  publication  of  his  "  Boston 
Gazette,  or  Weekly  Advertiser,"  —  a  third  newspaper, 
bearing  the  title  of  the  Boston  Gazette,  was  published 
by  Edes  &i  Gill.  It  was  a  crown  half  sheet,  printed  in 
two  pages,  folio.  When  it  first  appeared,  its  head  was 
decorated  with  two  cuts,  one  of  which  was  the  same 
that  Kneeland  had  used  for  his  Gazette  ;  the  other  was 
that,  which  embellished  the  title  of  Rogers  h  Fowle's 
Independent  Advertiser.  The  title  of  the  paper  stood 
between  these  two  cuts.  About  the  year  1760,  both 
these  devices  were  laid  aside,  and  that,  which  appears 
at  the  head  of  this  article,  was  adopted,  and  was  con- 
tinued as  part  of  the  title  as  long  as  the  paper  was  pub- 
lished.    This  device,  according  to  Mr.  Thomas,  repre- 


166      BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

sents  Minerva  (instead  of  Britannia)  seated  before  a 
pedestal,  on  which  is  a  cage ;  Minerva  holds  a  spear 
surmounted  with  the  cap  of  liberty  in  her  left  hand,  and, 
with  her  right  opens  the  cage,  and  liberates  the  bird, 
which  is  represented  as  flying  towards  a  tree  that  stands 
at  some  distance  from  a  city.  At  the  time  of  this 
change,  the  form  of  the  paper  was  enlarged,  and  it  was 
printed  on  a  whole  demy  sheet,  and  the  typography  un- 
derwent some  improvements. 

The  establishment  of  this  Gazette  was  an  important 
event  among  the  memorable  circumstances  and  incidents, 
which  preceded  the  Revolution.  The  office  of  its  pub- 
lication became  the  habitual  resort  of  the  most  distin- 
guished political  writers  of  that  period.  Some  of  them 
had  been  correspondents  of  the  Independent  Advertiser. 
James  Otis,  Samuel  Adams,  John  Hancock,  Joseph 
Warren,  Thomas  Gushing,  John  Adams,  and  Josiah 
Quincy,  jun.  inflexible  advocates  of  civil,  political,  and 
religious  liberty,  were  the  moving  spirits  at  these  meet- 
ings ;  and  there  is  no  doubt,  that  many  of  the  measures 
of  opposition  to  the  acts  of  the  British  Parliament  for 
taxing  the  Golonies,  which  produced  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  and  resulted  in  the  complete  separation  of 
the  Golonies  from  the  parent  country,  originated  in  the 
deliberations  of  this  association  of  patriots  and  statesmen. 
Edes  and  Gill  were  men  of  bold  and  fearless  hearts,  of 
good  reputation  as  private  citizens,  and  unwavering  in 
their  opposition  to  the  policy  of  the  government.  Sup- 
ported and  encouraged,  as  they  were,  by  writers  of  the 
first  talent  and  respectability,  the  Gazette  soon  became 
the  organ  of  the  Whigs,  and  gained  extensive  circulation. 
Every  innovation  upon  the  chartered  privileges  of  the 


EDES    AND    GILL.  167 

Colonies  was  examined,  reviewed,  reprobated,  and  con- 
demned, with  a  freedom  which  knew  no  fear,  and  a  severity 
which  despised  all  control.  No  press  in  the  country 
exerted  a  more  powerful  influence  over  the  feelings, 
opinions,  and  conduct  of  the  people. 

The  measures  of  the  provincial  government  furnished 
a  long  catalogue  of  grievances,  on  which  the  writers  for 
the  Gazette  were  wont  to  make  their  comments,  even 
from  the  first  publication  of  the  paper ;  and  the  warmth, 
with  which  they  began,  increased  with  every  succeeding 
act  of  oppression,  —  the  Stamp  Act,  the  Massacre,  the 
Tea  Tax,  and  the  closing  of  the  port  of  Boston,  —  to 
the  highest  pitch  of  indignation.  The  proceedings  of 
town-meetings,  of  committees,  and  of  individuals,  con- 
cerned in  opposing  the  arbitrary  measures  of  the  govern- 
ment are  detailed  in  the  Gazette,  and  impart  an  interest 
to  its  columns,  which  will  not  be  subdued  till  the  events 
themselves  shall  be  forgotten.  The  Boston  Massacre, 
which  took  place  on  the  evening  of  the  Fifth  of  March, 
1770,  is  minutely  narrated  in  the  Gazette  of  the  twelfth  ; 
and  this  narrative  has  always  been  deemed  faithful  and 
authentic.  As  it  was  an  event  that  could  not  be  fore- 
seen, the  public  could  not  be  prepared  for  it  by  any 
warning  voice  from  the  press,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Stamp 
Act ;  and  such  was  the  horrible  nature  of  the  transaction, 
—  involving  the  certainty  of  a  judicial  trial  for  assassina- 
tion—  that  the  press  preserved  an  almost  total  silence  after 
the  tragedy  was  performed.  Little  concerning  it  can  be 
found  in  any  of  the  papers  of  the  day,  until  after  the 
trial.  The  result  of  the  trial  was  not  universally  satis- 
factory. From  an  occasional  remark  in  the  Gazette,  it 
may  be  inferred  that  the  editors  would  have  been  better 


168     BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

pleased,  had  the  verdict  been  otherwise  than  it  was.  A 
writer  under  the  signature  of  "  Vindex,"  published  a 
series  of  articles,  reviewing  the  arguments  of  counsel  and 
the  decisions  of  the  Court,  and  tending  to  show  that  the 
verdict  was  not  such  as  the  testimony  in  the  case  would 
have  justified.  That  John  Adams  and  Josiah  Quincy 
engaged  in  the  defence  of  the  soldiers,  who  were  indicted 
for  the  murder,  was  evidently  iTiuch  regretted  by  many 
of  their  friends,  as  well  as  by  a  large  portion  of  the 
people. 

The  anniversary  of  the  massacre  was  marked,  in  Bos- 
ton, by  the  observance  of  solemn  ceremonies,  and  an 
oration  for  several  succeeding  years.  On  the  evening 
of  the  anniversary  in  1771,  a  pageant  was  exhibited, 
which  is  thus  noticed  in  the  Gazette  :  — 

Tuesday  last  was  the  Anniversary  of  the  never-to-be-forgotten  Fifth 
of  Mardi,  1770,  when  Messieurs  Graij^  Maverick;  Caldwell,  Cair,  and 
Attucks  were  inhumanly  murdered  by  a  Party  of  Soldiers  of  the  XXIXth 
Eegimcnt  in  King-Street:  —  The  Bells  of  the  several  Congregational 
Meeting-IIouses  were  tolled  from  XII  o'clock  at  Noon  till  I :  —  In  the 
Evening  there  was  a  Axry  striking  Exhibition  at  the  Dwelling-House  of 
Mr.  PAUL  RE VEKE,  fronting  the  Old  North  Square.  — At  one  of 
the  Chamber- Windows  was  the  appearance  of  the  Ghost  of  the  unfor- 
tunate young  Seider,  with  one  of  his  Fingers  in  the  Wound,  endeavor- 
ing to  stop  the  Blood  issuing  therefrom  :  Near  him  bis  Friends  weep- 
ing: And  at  a  small  distance  a  monumental  Obelisk,  with  his  Bust  in 
Front :  —  On  the  Front  of  the  Pedestal,  were  the  Names  of  those  killed 
on  the  Fifth  of  March :  Underneath  the  following  Lines, 

Seider's  pale  Ghost  fresh  hleedhu]  stands, 
And  Vengeance  for  his  Death  demands. 

In  the  next  Window  were  represented  the  Soldiers  drawn  up,  firing 
at  the  People  assembled  before  them  —  the  Dead  on  the  Ground  —  and 
the  Wounded  Mliiig,  with  the  Blood  running  in  Streams  from  their 
Wounds:  Over  which  was  wrote  Foul  Plat.  In  the  third  Window 
was  the  Figure  of  a  Woman,  representing  America,  sitting  on  the 
Stump  of  a  Tree,  with  a  Staff  in  her  Hand,  and  the  Cap  of  Liberty 


EDES    AND    GILL.  169 

on  the  Top  thereof,  —  one  Foot  on  the  Head  of  a  Grenadier  lying 
prostrate  grasping  a  Serpent  —  Her  Finger  pointing  to  the  Tragedy. 

The  whole  was  so  well  executed,  that  the  Spectators,  which  amounted 
to  many  Thousands,  were  struck  "vvith  solemn  Silence,  and  their  Coun- 
tenances covered  with  a  melancholy  Gloom.  At  nine  o'clock  the  Bells 
tolled  a  doleful  Peal,  until  Ten ;  when  the  Exhibition  was  withdrawn, 
and  the  People  retired  to  their  respective  Habitations. 

Another  subject  of  great  and  permanent  interest  among 
the  people  of  Boston  during  this  period  of  general  ex- 
citement and  irritation,  was  the  tax  upon  Tea,  and  the 
proceedings  of  the  town  in  reference  thereto.  The 
Gazette  has  a  full  account  of  the  various  town-meetings, 
and  the  correspondence  between  several  committees 
appointed  at  those  meetings  and  the  persons,  to  whom  the 
Teas,  then  on  board  certain  ships  in  the  harbor,  were 
consigned.  The  Destruction  of  the  Tea  —  a  world- 
renowned  exploit,  —  is  thus  recorded  in  the  Gazette  of 
December  20,  1773  :  — 

On  Tuesday  last  the  body  of  the  people  of  this  and  all  the  adjacent 
towns,  and  others  from  the  distance  of  twenty  miles,  assembled  at  the 
Old  South  meeting-house,  to  inquire  the  reason  of  the  delay  in  sending 
the  ship  Dartmouth,  with  the  East-India  Tea,  back  to  London ;  and 
having  found  that  the  owner  had  not  taken  the  necessary  steps  for  that 
purpose,  they  enjoined  him  at  his  peril  to  demand  of  the  collector  of 
the  customs  a  clearance  of  the  ship,  and  appointed  a  committee  of  ten 
to  see  it  performed :  after  which  they  adjourned  to  the  Thursday  fol- 
lowing, ten  o'clock.  They  then  met,  and  being  informed  by  Mr.  Rotch, 
that  a  clearance  was  refused  him,  they  enjoined  him  immediately  to 
enter  a  protest  and  apply  to  the  Governor  for  a  passport  by  the  castle, 
and  adjoiirned  again  till  three  o'clock  for  the  same  day.  At  which 
time  they  again  met,  and  after  waiting  till  near  sunset,  Mr.  Rotch  came 
in  and  informed  them  that  he  had  accordingly  entered  his  protest  and 
waited  on  the  Governor  for  a  pass,  but  his  excellency  told  him  he  could 
not  consistent  with  his  duty  grant  it  until  his  vessel  was  qualified.  The 
people  finding  all  their  efforts  to  preserve  the  property  of  the  East-India 
Company  and  return  it  safely  to  London,  frustrated  by  the  tea  con- 
signees, the  collector  of  the  customs,  and  tlie  Governor  of  the  Province, 
DISSOLVED  their  meeting.  —  But,  behold  what  followed !    A  number 


170    BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

of  hrave  and  resolute  men,  determined  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  save 
their  countiy  from  the  ruin  which  their  enemies  had  plotted,  in  less 
than  four  hours,  emptied  every  chest  of  tea  overboard  the  three  ships 
commanded  by  Captains  Hull,  Bru(;e,  and  Coffin,  amounting  to  342 
chests,  into  the  Sea ! !  without  the  least  damage  done  to  the  ships  or 
any  other  property.  The  masters  and  owners  are  well  pleased  that 
their  ships  are  thus  cleared ;  and  the  people  are  almost  universally  con- 
gratulating each  other  on  this  happy  event. 

The  state  of  public  feeling,  in  regard  to  the  use  of 
Tea,  is  truly  illustrated  in  the  annexed  article,  from  the 
Gazette  of  September  5,  1784,  —  evidently  the  com- 
position of  one  of  the  editors  :  — 

About  ten  days  since,  there  came  a  villanous  pedlar  to  a  store  in 
Leominster,  who,  upon  examination  was  found  to  haA'e  a  quantity  of 
the  destructive  and  detestable  weed,  Tea  —  which  he  asserted  he  had 
brought  with  him  in  a  late  foreign  voyage,  and  pretended  he  was  carry- 
ing it  home  to  liis  dear  wife;  but  it  seems  he  had  not  the  greatest 
regard  and  affection  for  her,  by  his  giving  her  poison.  —  However,  he 
offered  his  Tea  for  sale,  thinking  the  store-keeper  to  be  an  enemy  to 
his  country ;  but,  to  his  great  sorrow,  he  soon  found  it  was  not  so ;  for, 
by  this  time,  the  shop  was  well  stored  with  ti-ue  Whigs,  (a  most  respect- 
able assortment.)  who,  it  seems,  were  privately  invited  there  by  the 
store-keeper ;  at  First  sight,  struck  a  homd  damp  on  the  Tea-Merchant, 
and  perhaps  caused  as  violent  an  agitation  in  his  knees,  as  ever  was  in 
those  of  Belshazzar ;  so  that  he  cried  for  quarter,  begging  they  would 
not  clothe  him  in  the  modern  dress,  the  weather  being  excessively  hot. 
The  Whigs  granted  his  petition,  but  repeatedly  exhorted  him  to  reform, 
and  be  no  longer  an  enemy  to  himself  and  countr}' ;  —  and  finally  they 
made  him  these  veiy  friendly  proposals,  which  were  as  follows,  that 
he  should  either  immediately  bum  that  Tea,  at  his  own  cost,  or  at 
theu'S,  or  have  it  taken  by  force  and  consumed ;  the  fonner  of  which  he 
readily  agieed  to,  by  burning  the  Tea.  He  then  departed,  heartily 
thanking  them  for  their  kindness  and  benevolence  toward  him. 

But  lenity  cannot,  must  not  be  exercised  towards  these  enemies  much 
longer ;  —  it  is  to  be  feared  the  direful  period  is  at  hand,  when  the  Sons 
of  Liberty  will  be  bound  in  duty,  both  to  God  and  themselves,  to  hang, 
drown,  or  othei'W'ise  demolish  these  execrable  villains  from  the  face  of 
the  earth,  that  posterity  may  enjoy  a  peaceful  and  happy  land,  preserved 
from  utter  ruin  by  the  noble  efforts  of  Freedom's  Sons.  Oh  !  that  the 
refulgent  rays  of  liberty  might  penetrate  the  transparent  skulls  of  those 
abandoned  few,  who  are  ever  plotting  their  country's  ruin. 


EDES    AND    GILL.  171 

During  the  administration  of  Governor  Hutchinson, 
frequent  and  ahnost  constant  attacks  were  made  upon  it 
by  the  editors  or  correspondents  of  the  Gazette.  His 
speeches  and  messages  to  the  General  Court  were 
reviewed  and  censured  with  freedom,  and  frequently  in 
severe  and  indignant  language.  A  writer  under  the 
signature  of  "  Lucius  "  addressed  to  him  a  series  of  let- 
ters, of  which  the  following, — being  No.  H.  —  is  a 
specimen  :  — 

To  Mr.  Hutchinson. 

I  have  again  perused  your  letters,  and  am  constrained  to  revisit  you. 
Being  unused  to  claim  audience  of  the  Great,  you  will  pardon  my  ability 
to  attemper  my  awkward  but  honest  salutations  to  the  elegant  organs  of 
the  coin-tier.  Your  repeated  injunctions  of  secrecy  to  your  confidential 
correspondents,  evidence  you  to  be  perfectly  callous  to  the  feelings  of 
humanity.  Those  who  shrink  not  at  guilt  frequently  recoil  at  shame. 
The  most  finished  profligate  is  more  appalled  at  the  hazard  of  detec- 
tion, than  in  the  pei-peti-ation  of  the  grossest  enormities.  Influenced  as 
I  am  by  that  first  great  duty  of  every  citizen  to  drag  to  light  the  con- 
spirators against  the  public  safety,  I  feel  some  regret  to  wound  a  sensi- 
bility so  tremblingly  alive.  I  could  applaud  you,  could  I  hush  my 
conscience  to  a  dead  sleep,  with  less  reluctance  than  I  now  censure  you. 
Were  I  not  thoroughly  persuaded  your  conspiracies  tend  to  the  ruin  of 
my  country,  you  might  glut  your  unsated  ambition,  and  cram  your 
avarice  to  bursting,  sooner  than  provoke  my  indignation. 

The  iniquitous  measures  concerted  by  you  and  the  junto  of  enemies 
to  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  colony,  have  steadily  received  all  that 
encouragement  and  support,  which  your  native  cunning,  specious  ad- 
dress, and  extensive  popularity  could  afford  them.  The  natiu-al  weight 
of  family  interest,  joined  to  the  adventitious  aid  of  exterior  circum- 
stances, and  that  fertile  source  of  coniiption,  titular  dignities,  which  you 
have  managed  like  a  skillful  gambler,  have  preponderated  in  the  ad- 
verse scale,  by  the  foul  revolt  of  the  natural  guardians  of  the  rights  of 
the  people.  The  infamous  monopoly  of  the  offices  of  government  in 
your  family,  has  served  to  render  the  most  of  them  of  some  signifi- 
cance :  Others  have  been  elevated  in  the  true  policy  of  a  Roman  pre- 
fect, from  the  very  dregs  of  mankind :  So  far  from  being  distinguished 
by  their  natural  or  acquired  excellences,  they  are  rather  remarkable  for 
a  gross  defect  of   education  and  understanding :    These  have  been 


172   BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

modestly  denominated  the  better  sort  of  people.  I  affect  not  to  despise 
any  man,  but  detest  the  motive  of  snatching  a  rascal  from  the  dunghill, 
though,  by  arts  the  most  contemptible,  he  may  have  acquired  a  casual 
opulence,  and  introduce  liim  to  rank  and  place,  to  abet  the  designs  of  a 
traitor.  Men  of  such  characters,  so  unaccountably  distinguished  by 
you,  to  be  sure,  could  not  be  ungrateful ;  they  must  of  necessity  adopt 
the  sentiments,  and  concur  in  the  measures,  of  a  person  of  your  reputed 
wisdom,  from  whom  they  live,  move,  and  have  their  political  being;  the 
dread  of  being  consigned  to  their  primitive  nothingness,  should  they  be 
possessed  of  one  spark  of  virtue,  would  prevent  their  acting  counter  to 
your  sovereign  dictates.  Could  they  be  supposed  to  court  disgi-ace  by 
an  heroic  act  of  self-denial,  you  had  another  tenure  to  secure  obedience 
by  your  assiu-ance,  that  they  would  certainly  meet  with  favor  and  encour- 
agement. 

In  your  own  person  you  exhibit  a  shining  example  of  the  connipt 
traffic  of  the  times  ;  you  have  received  a  noble  compensation  for  your 
pliability.  If  j-ou  are  become  a  pack-horse  of  tyranny,  you  bound  over 
us  with  glittering  trappings.  I  cannot  but  admire  the  fertility  of  your 
genius  ;  rich  in  expedients,  you  could  ever  bend  your  interpretations  to 
the  temper  of  your  masters :  ministerial  mandates  operate  in  your 
hands  with  an  energy  uncontrollable:  Right,  justice,  private  judgement 
and  public  convenience,  have  ever  been  annihilated  at  the  fat  of  a  pri- 
vate instniction  ;  yet  by  the  strange  stniggle  of  a  political  1  ilate,  you 
have  affected  to  wash  your  hands  of  the  guilt  of  parricide.  But  have 
you  not  gone  beyond  your  tether,  Su'  1  In  the  career  of  success,  you 
have  failed  to  consider  the  times  might  alter  stiU.  As  you  have  pro- 
ceeded too  far  to  retreat  without  covering  yourself  with  disgrace,  perse- 
vere, I  charge  you.  Let  us  not  arraign  you  of  want  of  fortitude  or  con- 
sistency ;  blush  only  in  secret,  if  conscience,  awakened,  denies  you  re- 
pose ;  laugh  at  that  bugbear  of  the  sordid  and  timorous ;  despise  the 
frowns  of  the  virtuous,  the  curses  of  the  multitude;  preserve  what? 
Conscience  placated,  honor  unimpeached,  integrity  untainted,  or  your 
country  unthrallcd  ?     Ko,  Sir ;  preserve  yom-  place. 

You  insist,  there  must  he  an  abridgement  of  what  are  culled  English  Lib- 
erties ;  you  wish  to  see  a  further  restraint  of  Liberty  in  the  Colony :  for 
what  reason.  Sir  ?  Because  your  misrepresentations  would  fail  of  their 
designed  effect,  without  the  total  ruin  of  the  colony  ?  Let  me  challenge 
you  in  the  face  of  Heaven,  What  right  has  the  colony  justly  forfeited? 
What  claim  has  she  not  justly  made  ?  Do  not  reason  and  equity  forbid 
us  to  pay  submission  to  such  acts  and  regulations,  which,  so  far  from 
being  beneficial,  are  grievous  and  unconstitutional  ?  Are  we  indulged 
in  the  personal  security  of  British  subjects  ?    No  !    Is  acquii-ed  property 


EDES    AND    GILL.  173 

ours  by  any  certain  tenure  ?  No.  Are  not  our  claims  of  charter-rights 
(Icenicd  nugatory,  insolent,  and  contumacious  1  Yes.  One  question 
more  I  must  be  indulged  in, —  What  must  be  the  opinion  of  your  vir- 
tue and  honesty,  among  your  confidential  correspondents,  when  they 
consider  you  as  a  native  American  so  solicitous  to  abridge  the  liberties 
of  your  counti-ymen  ?  What  must  be  the  resentments  of  yovir  fellow- 
citizens  respecting  the  man,  whom  they  have  j^eculiarly  caressed,  hon- 
ored, and  promoted  ?  You  have  intended  the  colonies  in-eparable  mis- 
chief, by  inculcating  that  narrow  and  diabolical  maxim,  that  a  colony, 
distant  from  the  parent  state,  cannot  possibly  enjoy  all  the  liberty  of  the  pa- 
rent state.  You  refer,  probably,  to  the  colonies  of  Rome,  the  fruits  of 
conquest :  Do  not  the  circumstances  of  these  colonies  materially  differ 
from  those  ?  Pray  inform  me,  Wliat  is  the  bond  of  our  subjection "? 
Those  colonies  were  harassed  by  other  Bernards  and  other  Ilutchin- 
sons.  They  finally  revolted ;  and,  after  tearing  the  empire  to  pieces  by 
intestine  broils,  Rome,  the  mistress  of  the  universe,  gave  up  the  ghost ; 
and  bequeaths  a  wiser  lesson  to  Britain  than  that  of  the  sage  Mr. 
Hutchinson,  quoted  above.  Through  your  machinations,  and  those  of 
your  great  antetype  Bernard,  this  colony  has  suffered  violence  ;  even  at 
this  period,  power  has  no  barrier  in  America.  A  tyrant.  Sir,  can  make 
no  atonement  for  reducing  subjects  to  slavery.  Power,  once  perverted 
to  the  radical  injury  of  a  state,  becomes  too  poor  to  make  them  com- 
pensation, and  must  and  will  be  checked,  whenever  time  and  abilities 
present  a  favorable  opportunity.  To  this  dilemma  your  wicked  coun- 
sels have  reduced  the  nation :  they  certainly  foresee  that  civil  discord 
must  eventually  purchase  what  is  unreasonably  withheld  from  unavail- 
ing petitions.  Lucius. 

The  letters,  alluded  to  at  the  beginning  of  the  prece- 
ding address  to  the  Governor,  were  written  by  him  to  a 
member  of  the  British  cabinet,  in  the  year  1772.  The 
originals  were  obtained  by  Dr.  Franklin,  and  sent  to 
Massachusetts,  to  a  member  of  the  General  Court,  who 
presented  them  to  that  body.  The  doors  leading  to  the 
galleries  of  the  House  of  Representatives  were  closed 
while  the  letters  were  read.  The  House  immediately 
voted,  "  That  the  tendency  and  design  of  said  letters 
was  to  subvert  the  constitution  of  this  government,  and 
to  introduce  arbitrary  power  into  the  provinces."  The 
15* 


174   BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

next  day  the  Governor  sent  a  message  to  tlie  House, 
stating  that  he  had  been  informed  of  their  vote,  and 
denying  that  he  had  ever  written  any  public  or  private 
letter  with  such  an  intention,  or  that  could  have  any 
such  effect.  He  demanded  a  transcript  of  their  pro- 
ceedings, and  information  as  to  the  letters  referred  to. 
The  demand  was  complied  with,  and  another  message 
was  transmitted  to  the  House,  in  which  he  endeavored 
to  exculpate  himself  from  the  imputation  implied  in  the 
vote  of  the  House  ;  but  the  attempt  was  ineffectual  and 
the  treachery  of  the  Governor  became  apparent.  The 
matter  was  discussed  in  the  House,  and,  on  the  15th  of 
June,  that  body  passed,  by  a  very  large  majority,  a  set 
of  Resolutions,  the  last  of  which  was  —  "That  this 
House  is  bound  in  duty  to  the  King  and  their  constitu- 
ents, humbly  to  remonstrate  to  his  Majesty  the  conduct 
of  his  excellency  Thomas  Hutchinson,  Esq.  Governor, 
and  the  honorable  Andrew  Oliver,  Esq.  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  this  Province  ;  and  to  pray  that  his  Majesty 
would  be  pleased  to  remove  them  for  ever  from  the  gov- 
ernment thereof."  The  House  immediately  appointed 
the  Speaker,  and  Messrs.  Adams,  Hancock,  Hawley,  and 
Leonard,  a  committee  to  carry  the  resolution  into  effect.* 
I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  at  what  time  John 
Adams  began  to  write  for  the  Boston  Gazette.  It  is 
probable  that  many  of  the  communications,  animadvert- 
ing on  the  arbitrary  proceedings  of  the  ministry,  and  of 
their  agents  in  the  colonies,  and  published  under  difler- 
ent  signatures,    were  his    productions.     A   controversy 

*A  full  and  interesting  history  of  proceedings  and  events  connected  with  the 
transmission  and  receipt  of  these  Letters,  may  be  found  in  Sparks'sii/e  and  Writ- 
ings of  Benjamin  Franklin,  vol.^iv.  p.  414. 


EDES     AND    GILL.  175 

arose  between  him  and  William  Brattle,  of  Cambridge, 
concerning  the  appointment  and  salaries  of  Judges, 
which  was  published  in  the  Gazette.  The  articles  writ- 
ten by  Mr.  Adams,  in  this  controversy,  are  signed  with 
his  name.  It  was  in  January,  1775,  that  Mr.  Adams 
began  to  publish  in  the  Gazette  the  celebrated  series  of 
papers,  under  the  signature  of  "  Novanglus."  These 
were  occasioned  by  a  series  signed  "  Massachusetten- 
sis,"  written  by  Jonathan  Sewall  —  an  eminent  lawyer, 
who  abandoned  his  country  and  her  cause,  and  went  to 
England  in  1775.  "  He  and  John  Adams  were  bosom 
friends.  He  attempted  to  dissuade  Mr.  Adams  from 
attending  the  first  continental  congress  ;  and  it  was  in 
reply  to  his  arguments,  and  as  they  walked  on  the  Great 
Hill  at  Portland,  that  Adams  used  the  memorable  words  : 
'  The  die  is  now  cast ;  I  have  now  passed  the  Rubicon  ; 
swim  or  sink,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish  with  my 
country  is  my  unalterable  determination.'  They  parted 
and  met  no  more,  until  Sewall  came  to  America  in  1788. 
The  one,  the  high-souled,  the  lion-hearted  Adams,  had 
a  country,  and  a  free  country  ;  the  eloquent  and  gifted 
Sewall  lived  and  died  a  colonist."  * 

Mr.  Adams  addressed  his  communications  "  To  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts-Bay,"  and 
promises,  in  his  introductory  paper,  to  accompany  his 
antagonist,  in  his  "  ingenious  labors  to  convince  the  peo- 
ple that  the  system  of  colony  administration,  which  has 
been  pursued  for  ten  or  twelve  years,  is  a  wise,  righteous, 
and  humane  plan  ;  that  Sir  Francis  Bernard  and  Mr. 
Hutchinson,  are  their  best  friends  ;  and  that  those  gen- 
tlemen in  this  and  the  other  colonies,  who  have  been  in 

♦Snbiiie's  American   Loyalins,  p.  C09. 


176    BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

opposition  to  it,  are  from  ignorance,  error,  or  from  worse 
and  baser  causes,  your  worst  enemies."  Massachusettensis 
had  pledged  himself  to  "  avoid  personal  reflections,  but 
to  penetrate  the  arcana,  and  expose  the  wretched  policy 
of  the  Whigs."  "  I,  on  my  part,"  says  Novanglus, 
"  may,  perhaps,  in  a  course  of  papers,  penetrate  arcana, 
too; — show  the  wicked  policy  of  the  Tories  —  trace 
their  plan  from  its  first  rude  sketches  to  its  present  com- 
plete draught;  —  show  that  it  has  been  much  longer  in 
contemplation,  than  is  generally  known  —  who  were  the 
first  in  it  —  their  views,  motives,  and  secret  springs  of 
action,  —  and  the  means  they  have  employed.  This 
will  necessarily  bring  before  your  eyes  many  characters, 
living  and  dead.  From  such  a  research  and  detail  of 
facts,  it  will  clearly  appear  who  were  the  aggressors,  and 
who  have  acted  on  the  defensive,  from  first  to  last  —  who 
are  still  struggling,  at  the  expense  of  their  ease,  health, 
peace,  wealth,  and  preferment,  against  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  Tories  on  their  country,  —  and  who  are 
determined  to  continue  to  struggle,  at  much  greater  haz- 
ards still,  and,  like  the  Prince  of  Orange,  resolve  never 
to  see  its  entire  subjection  to  arbitrary  power,  but  rather 
to  die  fighting  against  it,  in  the  last  ditch."  This  series 
of  papers  was  continued  for  several  months,  —  occupy- 
ing a  large  portion  of  the  Gazette,  not  unfrequently  two 
or  three  pages  at  a  time.  They  were  received  and 
approved,  everywhere,  by  the  Whigs ;  admired  for  the 
manly  freedom  and  energy  of  their  style,  the  clearness 
of  the  writer's  reasoning,  the  pertinence  of  his  reflections, 
and  the  indisputable  facts  and  testimonies,  on  which  his 
arguments  were  founded.  They  placed  the  grounds  and 
progress  of  the  controversy  in  the  fairest  point  of  view, 


EDES    AND    GILL.  177 

and  detected  the  base  arts  and  false  glosses,  by  which 
the  principles  and  conduct  of  the  Whigs  had  been  mis- 
represented. 

One  of  the  most  bold,  powerful,  and  eloquent,  of  the 
fearless  patriots,  who  wrote  for  the  Gazette,  was  Josiah 
Quincy,  jun.  This  gentleman,  —  born  in  1744,  and 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1763,  —  published  in 
the  Gazette  of  September  28,  1767,  an  article  signed 
"  Hyperion,"  which  was  followed  by  a  second  piece 
under  the  same  signature,  on  the  5th  of  October.  He 
was  then  only  in  the  twenty-fourth  year  of  his  age,  and 
had  just  commenced  the  practice  of  the  law  in  his  native 
town  of  Boston.  The  following  sentences  are  extracted 
from  the  first  of  these  articles  :  — 

'Tis  a  political  maxim,  that  all  government  tends  to  despotism,  and, 
like  the  human  frame,  brings,  at  its  birth,  the  latent  seed,  which  finally 
shall  destroy  the  constitution.  This  is  a  melancholy  truth  —  but  such 
is  the  lot  of  humanity.  The  art  of  an  ingenious  physician  may,  indeed, 
for  a  time,  illude  the  desperate  poison,  the  skill  of  an  able  patriot  may 
prolong,  for  a  while,  the  political  existence  of  a  state ;  but  the  constitu- 
tion still  hastens,  with  increasing  velocity,  to  inevitable  death.  This 
truth  is  founded  in  nature  :  Experience,  has,  in  every  age,  verified  this 
maxim  of  politics,  and  the  approacliing  fate  of  our  mother  country  shall 
but  confirm  the  observation. 

An  insatiable  appetite,  an  enormous  thirst  of  despotic  sway,  is  a 
threatening  symptom  and  sure  presage  of  the  final  catasti'ophe  of  the 
constitutional  system.  A  desire  of  absolute  government  prompts  to  the 
extension  of  legal  authority,  and  states,  like  men,  are  precipitated  head- 
long, by  a  boundless  ambition,  from  the  giddy  precipice  of  power  into 
the  gulf  of  min  and  destruction.  0  Britain  1  hold  thy  cruel  hand  !  sus- 
pend the  bloody  sword  an  instant,  and  while,  with  an  outstretched  arm, 
thou  art  forcing  from  thy  injured  colonies  one  right  after  another,  — 
while,  even  now,  thou  art  making  the  desperate  pass,  which  stabs  the 
very  vitals  of  thy  children,  reflect,  one  single  moment,  upon  the  unnatu- 
ral, the  brutal  action.  But  if  the  dismal  scene  of  wo,  —  thy  sons  and 
daughters  weltering  in  their  infant  blood,  touch  not  thy  adamantine 
heart,  look  back  to  distant  ages,  and  see  the  rise  and  fall  of  ancient 
kingdoms !     Behold  their  fate,  and  learn  thine  o^^^l !     .     .     .     . 


178  BOSTON  GAZETTE   AND   COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

The  powers  of  the  human  mind  were  never  made  for  nnlimited  juris- 
diction over  the  extensive  realms  of  science,  neither  was  the  sceptre  of 
civil  society  formed  for  arbitrary-  and  universal  empu-e.  The  political 
like  the  animal  body  is  in  the  best  health,  while  the  original  constitution 
is  kept  pure  and  undebauched. 

The  second  communication  of  "  Hyperion,"  published 
in  the  Gazette  of  October  5,  1767,  here  follows  entire. 
The  motto,  it  will  be  perceived,  is  a  string  of  quotations 
from  Shakspeare,  with  slight  variations,  to  adapt  the  sen- 
timent to  the  time  and  the  occasion.  This  seems  to 
have  been  a  common  practice  with  Mr.  Quincy.  The 
mottoes  to  many  of  his  subsequent  contributions  to  the 
Gazette,  are  thus  constructed.  "  His  compositions,  dur- 
ing this  period,  prove  that  he  w^as  extensively  conversant 
with  the  best  writers  of  the  French  and  English  schools. 
Above  all,  the  genius  of  Shakspeare  seems  to  have  led 
captive  his  youthful  imagination.  In  his  writings,  quo- 
tations, or  forms  of  expression  modeled  upon  those  of 
that  author,  perpetually  recur.  There  still  exists  among 
his  papers  a  manuscript  of  the  date  of  1762,  he  then 
being  in  the  junior  class  of  the  college,  of  seventy  closely 
and  minutely  written  quarto  pages  of  extracts  from 
that  writer."  * 

Are  we  unpregnant  of  our  cause? 

Can  we  do  nothing,  no,  not  for  our  country, 

Upon  whose  property  and  most  dear  life 

A  vile  defeat  is  made  ?     Ai-e  we  all  cowards  ? 

It  cannot  be 

But  we  are  pigeon-livcred,  and  lack  gall 

To  make  oppression  bitter,  or,  ere  this. 

We  should  have  fatted  all  the  region  kites 

"With  the  oifal  of  these  slaves.    Bloody  villains ! 

Eemorseless,  ti-eacherous,  landless  villains  ! 

O  vengeance !    

O  all  you  host  of  heaven  !     0  earth  !     Wliat  else  ? 

*  See  "  Jlrmoir  of  Josiah  Quincy,  jun.,  by  liis  Son,  Josiuh  Guiiicy,"  page  7. 


EDES    AND    GILL.  179 

And  shall  I  couple  Hell  ?     O  fie  !     Hold,  hold,  my  heart ! 
And  you,  my  sinews,  grow  not  instant  old. 
But  bear  me  stiffly  up.     Can  I  forget  thee  ? 

0  my  poor  country !  while  memory  holds  a  seat 
In  this  distracted  globe,  I  will  remember  thee  ! 
Yea,  from  the  table  of  my  memory, 

1  '11  wipe  away  all  trivial,  fond  records, 

All  saws  of  books,  all  forms,  all  pressures  past, 

That  Youth  and  observation  copied  there. 

And  thy  commandments  all  alone  shall  live 

Within  tlie  book  and  volume  of  my  brain, 

Unmixed  with  baser  matter :  —  Yes,  by  Heaven ! 
When  I  reflect  upon  the  exalted  character  of  the  ancient  Britons, 
when  I  call  to  mind  the  fortitude  of  our  illustiious  predecessors,  when 
my  memory  retraces  the  noble  stiaiggles  of  the  late  memorable  period ; 
when  from  these  reflections  a  veiy  natural  transition  is  made,  and  I 
contemplate  the  gloomy  aspect  of  the  present  day,  my  feeling  heart  is 
alternately  torn  with  doubt  and  hope,  despondency  and  terror.  Can 
the  true,  generous  magnanimity  of  British  heroes  be  entirely  lost  in 
their  degenerate  progeny  l  Is  the  Genius  of  Liberty,  whose  breath,  but 
a  few  days  since,  inflamed  our  bosoms  with  a  celestial  ai'dor,  fled  for- 
ever 1  Is  the  spirit  of  the  prophets  departed  from  among  us,  that  our 
enemies  should  become  triumphant,  and  those,  who  seek  our  destiTiction, 
should  rejoice  1  Or  does  the  Lion  of  the  wood  but  sleep,  that  when  he 
is  roused  from  his  slumbers,  the  roaring  of  his  mouth  and  the  flame  of 
his  nostrils  may  be  the  more  terrible  1  O  ye  ravenous  blood-hounds  ! 
who  eager  stand,  with  wide-expanded  jaws,  to  seize  your  prey,  to  you  1 
call,  but  with  no  friendly  voice.  Have  you  not  seen  the  young  Lion  of 
the  forest  enraged  1  have  you  not  heard  the  thunder  of  his  voice "?  have 
you  not  beheld  the  lightning  of  his  eye  1  —  Come  not  too  near  his  sacred 
retreat;  disturb  not  his  peaceful  repose;  tempt  not  his  wrath,  lest  he 
gnash  his  teeth  with  indignation,  lest  he  tear  you  in  pieces  in  the  frenzy 
of  his  passion,  and  give  your  flesh  to  the  birds  of  the  au",  and  your  bones 
to  the  wild  beasts  of  the  field. 

An  attentive  observer  of  the  deportment  of  some  pai'ticular  persons, 
in  this  metropolis,  would  be  apt  to  imagine  that  the  grand  point  was 
gained ;  the  people  entirely  broken  to  the  Yoke  ;  all  America  subjugat- 
ed to  bondage.  Does  the  baleful  blast  of  calamity  blow  upon  our 
land  ?  —  See  these  accursed  betrayers  of  their  native  soil  snuff  with  joy 
the  tainted  gale.  Does  the  herald  of  report  sound  fortii  the  doom  of  a 
sister  colony  ^  —  See  these  vipers  of  our  bosom  swell  with  triumph  ;  see 
them,  even  now,  devouring,  in  imagination,  tlie  vitals  of  their  country. 


180         BOSTON  GAZETTE   AND   COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

and  anticipate  the  riotous  feast  they  expect  shortly  to  make  upon  the 
blood  and  treasure  of  their  fellow-citizens ;  and,  as  if  already  tliey  had 
fattened  and  grown  wanton  upon  the  spoils  of  the  land,  see  them  toss 
the  head  of  insolence,  put  on  the  haughty  air  of  contemptuous  disdain, 
and  insultingly  display  their  lordships  and  dominions,  their  potentates 
and  powers ;  nay,  they  dare  to  tell  us,  our  only  hope  is  to  crouch  and 
cowl  under  the  iron  rod,  and  kiss  the  sceptre  of  oppression.  Precious 
sample  of  the  meek  and  lowly  temper  of  those,  who  are  destined  to  be 
our  imperious  lords  and  masters  ! 

Be  not  deceived,  my  countr\Tnen,  by  these  venal  hirelings,  these 
mercenary  tools  of  power.  Let  them  not  cajole  you  by  their  subtleties 
into  submission,  or  frighten  you  by  their  vaporings  into  compliance. 
Should  some  wretched  minion,  who  would  palm  himself  as  "a  true  Pa- 
triot," endeavor  to  flatter  you  into  "  moderation  and  prudence,"  tell  him 
that  calmness  and  deliberation  are  to  guide  the  judgement ;  courage  and 
intrepidity  are  to  command  in  action.  Should  lie  tell  us  to  "perceive 
our  inability  to  oppose  the  Mother  Coiintrt/,"  —  we  boldly  answer,  that,  in 
defence  of  our  civil  and  religious  rights,  we  dare  to  oppose  the  world ; 
that,  with  the  God  of  annics  on  our  side,  even  the  God,  who  fought  our 
Fathers'  battles,  we  fear  not  the  hour  of  trial  ;  though  the  host  of  our 
enemies  should  cover  the  field  like  locusts,  and  set  their  armies  in 
dreadful  aiTay  against  us,  yet  the  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon  shall 
prevail.  —  But,  '■'■away  with  political  enthusiasm!"  If  this,  thou  Blas- 
phemer, is  enthusiasm,  then  will  we  live  and  die  enthusiasts. 

"If  tou  are  aggkieved,"  says  the  "Time  Patriot,"  ^^  strive  by  all 
prudent  means  to  obtain  redress." —  Go,  thou  dastard  1  Get  thee  home ! 
A  rank  adulterer  riots  in  thy  bed,  a  brutal  ravisher  deflowers  thy  only 
daughter,  a  barbarous  villain  now  lifts  the  murderous  hand,  and  stabs 
thy  tender  infant  to  the  heart.  See  the  sapphire  current  trickling  from 
the  wound,  and  the  dear  boy,  as  he  now  gasps  his  last,  cries  out  for  the 
ruflSan's  mercy.  Go !  thou  wTetch !  be  calm,  and  soothe  the  frenzy  of 
thy  soul  into  tame  moderation  ;  —  Go  !  Doubt  the  injuries  you  feel ;  — 
Go !  question  with  the  assassin  of  thy  wrongs ;  —  and  when,  insultingly, 
he  brandishes  the  fatal  dagger,  reeking  with  thy  infant's  gore,  nay,  holds 
the  crimson-tinged  point  to  thy  own  bosom,  and  bids  defiance  to  thy  ut- 
most rage,  then,  in  the  very  instant  of  tumultuous  fury,  —  Go!  Let 
even  thy  coward  soul  boast,  if  it  can,  of  '■'■prudence,  calmness,  and  deliber- 
ation" 

Out,  thou  abandoned  caitiff" !  Desist  thy  vile  but  impotent  attempts 
to  lure  my  fellow-countrymen  to  the  hidden  snare.  Thy  blandishments 
will  not  fascinate  our  eyes,  neither  do  thy  threats  of  a  "halter"  intimi- 
date us.    For,  under  God,  we  are  determined,  tliat,  wheresoever,  when- 


EDES    AND    GILL.  181 

soever,  or  howsoever  we  shall  be  called  to  make  our  exit,  we  will  die 
free  men.  And  well  do  we  know,  that  all  the  regalia  of  death  cannot 
dignify  a  villain's  past  life,  nor  diminish  the  ignominy  with  which  a 
slave  shall  quit  his  existence ;  neither  can  it  taint  the  unblemished 
honor  of  a  son  of  freedom,  though  he  should  make  his  departure  on  the 
already-prepared  gibbet,  or  be  dragged  to  the  new-erected  scaffold 
for  execution.  With  the  plaudit  of  conscience  he  vsdll  go  off  the  stage ; 
the  crown  of  joy  and  immortality  shall  be  his  reward  ;  the  history  of 
his  life,  his  childi-en  shall  venerate ;  the  virtues  of  their  sire  shall  excite 
their  emulation. 

Hear  me,  thou  Pa^n'of-Traitor,  and  all  ye  despicable  tribe  of  great 
and  petty  villains  !  Display  not  too  soon  j-our  "  halter,  Jire,  and  faggot ;" 
quaff  not  o\ir  blood  before  your  time,  lest  your  eagerness  to  anticipate 
forestall  the  delights  of  fruition. 

My  much  respected  countrymen !  Be  not  terrified  by  the  threats 
and  vaunting  of  your  sworn  foes :  For,  even  in  our  times,  we  have 
seen  the  finger  of  the  Lord ;  and  we  have  heard  with  our  ears,  and  our 
fathers  have  told  us,  the  great  things  which  God  did  for  them  in  their 
day ;  how  he  delivei'ed  them,  in  the  howling  wilderness,  out  of  the  paw 
of  the  Lion,  and  out  of  the  paw  of  the  bear;  how,  with  an  outstretched 
hand,  he  led  them  through  the  dreary  desert,  giving  them  the  manna  of 
heaven  for  food,  and  the  water  out  of  the  rock  for  them  to  drink  ;  how 
he  miraculously  preserved  his  chosen  people  from  tempest,  fire,  sword, 
and  famine,  and  put  all  their  lurking  and  insidious  enemies  to  flight. 
Surely,  his  ear  is  not  heavy,  that  he  cannot  hear,  nor  his  ann  shortened, 
that  he  cannot  save.  —  Did  he  not  plant  us  with  his  own  hand  ?  Ilath 
he  not  nourished  and  brought  us  up  as  children  1  Surely,  he  will  not, 
now,  altogether  cast  us  off !  If  we  seek  him,  he  will  be  found  of  us  ; 
while  we  sei-ve  him,  he  will  never  forsake  us.  And,  if  our  God  be  for 
us,  who  shall  be  against  us  ?  Though  our  enemies  should  be  as  the 
vermin  of  the  field,  or  as  the  insects  of  the  air,  yet  will  I  not  be  dis- 
mayed; for  the  breath  of  his  mouth  shall  scatter  them  abroad,  the 
power  of  his  strength  shall  confound  and  overwhelm  them  with  mighty 
destruction.  HYPERION. 

The  agreement,  entered  into  by  most  of  the  Boston 
merchants,  to  discontinue  the  importation  of  British 
goods,  was  greatly  annoying  to  the  Tories.  A  writer  in 
the  Boston  Chronicle,  who  adopted  the  signature  of  "  a 
Bostonian,"  was  ilhberal  and  abusive,  and  endeavored  to 
divert  pubHc  attention  from  matters  of  general  moment 

vor-.   I.  16 


182   BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

to  the  concerns  of  individuals.  Mr.  Quincy  published 
in  the  Gazette  of  February  12  and  26,  1770,  two  arti- 
cles, signed  "  an  Independant,"  in  reply  to  "  Bostonian." 
In  the  first  of  these,  the  following  paragraphs  occur :  — 

A  writer,  who  sets  out,  with  telling  us  that  "  our  attention  has  long 
been  engi-ossed  witli  wild  chivurus,"  camcs  "  a  title-page,  that  speaks 
the  nature  of  a  volume."  The  objects  that  have  attracted  our  eyes,  as 
well  as  the  hearts  of  all  North-America,  need  no  further  elucidation  to 
show  their  value  and  importance.  If  there  is  any  "  charm,"  that  is  like 
to  ensnare  us,  —  any  "fascination,"  that  should  be  dispelled,  it  is  the 
"  fascinating  charm  "  of  imitating  the  enticing  luxuries  of  those,  who 
riot  on  the  toil  of  others ;  —  a  greater  danger,  a  danger,  that  is  alarm- 
ing, in  proportion  as  it  is  not  generally  perceived.  A  great  danger  of 
the  present  day  is,  that  we  should  be  allured  l>y  the  affluence  and  splen- 
dor of  the  creatures,  among  us,  who  are  insinuating  their  poison,  by  in- 
creasing their  connections,  and  coiTupting  the  minds  of  the  young  and 
unwar)-,  with  flattering  expectations  of  eating  idle  bread. 


"If  I  ask,  (says  the  Eostonian,)  an  advocate  for  the  non-importation 
agreement,  what  end  it  is  to  answer,  I  am  told  it  is  to  bring  about  a 
EEPEAL  of  the  revenue  laws."  But,  by  the  gentleman's  leave,  I,  who 
am  an  advocate  for  tlie  same  agreement,  would  make  a  very  different 
answer.  I  believe,  if  those  laws  are  never  repealed,  it  will  be  happy 
for  my  countiy ;  and  therefore,  as  a  good  citizen,  I  wish  for  their  con- 
tinuance  l^rom  a  conviction  in  my  own  mind,  that  America 

is  now  the  slave  of  Britain  ;  from  a  sense  that  we  are  every  day,  more 
and  more,  in  danger  of  an  increase  of  our  burdens,  and  a  fastment  of 
our  shackles,  I  wish  to  see  my  countrymen  break  off  —  off  fok 
EVEK !  —  all  social  intercourse  with  those,  whose  commerce  contam- 
inates, whose  luxuries  poison,  whose  avarice  is  insatiable,  and  whose 
unnatural  oppressions  are  not  to  be  borne.  That  Americans  will  know 
their  rights,  that  they  will  resume,  assert,  and  defend  them,  are  matters, 
of  which  I  harbor  no  doubt.  "Whether  the  arts  of  policy,  or  the  arts 
of  ivar,  will  decide  the  contest,  are  problems  we  will  solve  at  a  more 
convenient  season.  He,  whose  heart  is  enamored  with  the  refinements 
of  political  artifice  and  finesse,  will  seek  one  mode  of  relief;  —  he, 
whose  heart  is  free,  honest,  and  intrepid,  will  pursue  another,  a  bolder 
and  more  noble  mode  of  redress.  This  reply  is  so  intelligible,  that  it 
needs  no  comment  for  explanation. 


EDES    AND    GILL.  183 

The  Gazette  of  August  6,  1770,  contains  another  of 
Mr.  Quincy's  communications,  signed  "An  Old  Man," 
in  which  he  says: — "A  wise  people  will  inquire 
thoroughly  into  every  scheme  proposed  for  their  adop- 
tion, and  when  its  baneful  or  salutary  effect  is  discerned, 
will  be  inflexible  in  their  resolutions.  A  nation  would 
be  mad,  indeed,  should  they  see,  as  in  the  meridian  sun, 
a  design  to  enslave  them,  and,  after  a  feeble  opposition, 
be  cajoled  or  bullied  into  timid  acquiescence.  But  their 
conduct  would  be  singularly  infamous  and  deplorable, 
should  they  tamely  surrender  their  birthrights  to  pimps, 
parasites,  and  harpies,  when  their  solemn  protestations  of 
resistance,  to  their  hearts'  blood,  had  been  registered  in 
the  records  of  eternity.  Dead,  also,  must  they  be  to 
every  moral  sentiment,  should  they  be  actuated  to  com- 
mit the  most  atrocious  crime  by  a  fondness  and  precipi- 
tude  to  imitate  the  perfidy  of  others.  Surely,  it  is  to 
good  men  and  Christians  a  strange  doctrine,  that  the 
villany  of  one  part  of  society,  is  a  sanction  for  the 
wickedness  of  the  residue.  Men,  who  have  a  genuine 
attachment  to  their  most  important  concernments,  will 
examine  what  is  their  duty,  and  what  the  Lord  their  God 
requireth  of  them  ;  and  then  will  walk  as  a  well- 
informed  conscience  shall  dictate.  On  such  men  alone, 
under  God,  do  we  depend  ;  — on  those,  who,  despising  the 
disingenuity  of  fraudulent  subterfuge,  will  persevere, 
with  untainted  probity,  to  the  end. 

"  We  have  been  verging,  an  unexpected  length  of 
time,  to  that  trying  period,  which  is  to  delineate,  and 
mark  for  ever,  our  true  characters.  If  we  are  blind,  we 
shall  surely  be  deluded ;  if  discerning,  we  shall  escape 
the  snare.     If  we  are  pusillanimous  wretches,  we  may 


184   BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

be  easily  frightened  ;  if  brave,  our  courage,  vigor,  and 
stability  will  accumulate  strength  by  opposition.  And 
let  those,  who  fear  the  wants  arising  from  loss  of  trade, 
remember  the  toils  and  labors  of  their  forefathers,  and 
blush  when  they  repine  at  fancied  miseries.  If  it  did 
not  move  our  derision,  it  would  excite  the  sharpest  anger, 
to  hear  the  difficulties  we  now  sustain,  mentioned  with  a 
complaining  regret.  Good  God  !  Consider  my  fellow- 
citizens,  what  you  are  struggling  for  —  consider  what 
you  oppose,  and  what  you  seek  !  In  defending  your  fair 
inheritance,  it  is  impossible  for  you  to  suffer  half  the 
pains  and  sorrows  your  pious  ancestors  bore,  in  the  ar- 
duous acquisition." 

Mr.  Quincy  continued  to  write  for  the  Gazette,  adopt- 
ing various  signatures,  as  fancy  or  circumstances  might 
induce  him  to  change.  Many  of  his  productions  it 
would  be  difficult  to  identify.  In  the  Gazette  of  No- 
vember 25,  1771,  there  is  a  piece  signed  "  Hyperion," 
which,  from  the  style,  as  well  as  from  the  fact  that  he  had 
formerly  written  under  the  same  signature,  may  be  attri- 
buted to  Mr.  Quincy.  It  is  addressed  "  To  the  man, 
whom  Conscience  forbids  to  style  my  Governor."  The 
annexed  paragraph  is  a  specimen  of  its  serious  admoni- 
tion :  — 

Are  riches  the  desire  of  your  eyes  ?  In  the  right  hand  of  wisdom 
and  virtue  are  riches,  yea,  durable  riches  and  pleasures  forevermore. 
Does  power  inflame  your  ambition  ?  Consider  you  can  be  but  a  sub- 
ordinate ruler;  you  must  please  a  master,  or  be  at  last  "dismissed  and 
punished,"  let  the  denunciation  seem  as  grating  to  you  as  it  will ;  and 
who  so  great,  so  powerful,  or  so  honorable  a  master,  as  the  Iving  of  kings, 
who  requires  you,  on  pain  of  his  highest  displeasure,  to  govern  this  great 
people  as  one  that  must  give  an  account  1  The  meanest  peasant  is  as 
much  the  darling  of  heaven  as  the  finest  courtier.  Is  a  good  conscience 
a  most  cordial  companion  through  life,  and  a  comforting  stay  to  the 


EDES    AND    GILL.  185 

soul,  when,  sublunary  things  receding,  the  divinity  enlarges  upon  the 
mind  ?  This  is  only  to  be  maintained  in  doing  unto  others,  as,  by  change 
of  circumstances,  you  wish  them  to  do  unto  you.  A  timely  check  to  the 
rahies  dominandi,  which  early  infected  your  mind,  would  have  secured 
you  all  these.  But,  alas  !  such  a  conquest  as  this  was  too  hard  for  a 
stripling,  who  early  confessed  he  had  sucked  prerogative  milk,  and  ob- 
served it  would  never  he  good  times  till  the  landed  interest  was  got  into  few 
hands. 

An  article  signed  "  Calisthenes,"  in  the  Gazette  of 
February  10,  1772,  was  written  by  Mr.  Quincy.  It  is  a 
severe  and  bitter  rebuke  to  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  for  postponing  the  sentence  of  the  law  upon  a 
criminal,  who  had  been  legally  convicted  of  murder. 
The  delay  of  judgement  and  execution  is  attributed  to 
political  favoritism.  The  criminal  had  then  been  in 
gaol  twenty-two  months.  "  Twenty-two  months  im- 
prisonment for  a  capital  crime,  (says  Calisthenes,)  in  a 
tormenting  suspense  between  life  and  death,  is  what  no 
man,  undeserving  of  death,  ought  to  bear.  Either  the 
laws  want  mending,  or  the  ministers  of  justice  want 
something  else.  ...  Is  Richardson  kept  in  gaol  in 
order  to  recommend  him  to  mercy  ?  The  honor  of  ma- 
gistracy ought  openly  to  avow  it ;  —  the  wisdom  of 
recommenders  ought  to  justify  it.  A  secret,  cunning- 
like conduct,  in  persons  o[  judicial  characters,  is  base, 
odious,  and  execrable.  It  is  base,  because  little  :  odious, 
because  wicked  :  execrable,  because  destructive  of  social 
security  and  happiness.  ...  Prisoners  have  their 
rights,  as  well  as  other  men.  Complaint  is  the  pre- 
rogative OF  the  injured.  No  order  of  men  are  too 
high  to  be  called  upon,  —  too  honest  to  exclude  susjpi- 
cion, — too  pure  to  be  tempted,  —  too  powerful  to  be 
amesned  to  the  tribunal  of  the  public,  and  punished  by  — 
THE  people.  Remember  this  important  truth  :  What 
16* 


186   BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

is  law  for  a  Richardson,  is  law  for  a  Sidney.  If  op- 
pression is  warranted  by  law,  the  Patriot  is  much  more 
likely  to  fall  a  victim,  than  the  pimp  and  pander.  Hajmp- 
DENS  will  stain  the  scaffold  with  blood,  while  a  robber  or 
murderer  finds  a  city  of  refuge.  No  tyranny  so  severe, 
none  so  intolerable,  none  so  dangerous,  none  so  remedi- 
less, as  that  of  Executive  Courts." 

In  the  Gazette  of  June  7,  1772,  is  the  first  of  a  se- 
ries of  papers  by  Mr.  Quincy,  under  the  signature  of 
"  Marchmont  Nedham."  It  begins  as  follows  :  — 
"  The  serpent,  subtlest  beast  of  all  the  field." 
I  scarce  ever  inspected  the  face  of  Mr.  H.  [Hutchinson]  or  considered 
his  conduct  in  public  and  private  life,  but  some  passage  of  my  beloved 
IVIilton  came  to  my  mind:  And  however  "(loubtful  or  equivocal"  his  be- 
havior may  appear  to  the  guUahle  and  gaping^  he  is  easily  kenned  and 
seen  through  by  the  sagacious  and  penetrating.  Worldly  policy  and 
serpentine  insinuation  have,  in  general,  been  his  characteristics.  These 
have  so  often  served  his  turn,  and  a  dolt  must  become  so  considerable 
an  adult  by  practice,  that  when  he  obviously  stumbles  out  of  his  com- 
mon track,  I  suspect  he  is  ridden  by  a  superannuated  driver,  or  urged  on 
by  one,  who  has  been  a  blunderer  from  the  beginning. 

The  act  of  Governor  Hutchinson,  which  was  the 
occasion  of  the  attack  upon  him  in  this  paper,  was  his 
convening  the  General  Court  at  Cambridge  instead  of 
Boston,  under  pretence  that  "  it  was,  in  many  respects, 
very  inconvenient  for  the  sitting  to  be  held  in  Boston." 
The  House  of  Representatives  had  earnestly  requested 
"  a  removal  to  Boston,  as  a  matter  of  the  greatest  public 
advantage." 

Several  messages  passed,  on  this  occasion  between  the 
House  of  Representatives  and  the  Governor.  In  one  of 
them  the  Governor  said  —  "I  must  govern  myself  by 
the  measure  not  of  your  understanding  but  my  own. 
What  appears  to  you  to  be  sufficiently  plain,  appears  to 


EDES    AND    GILL.  187 

me  to  be  doubtful  and  equivocal.  So  in  complying  with 
your  desire,  founded  upon  this  among  other  reasons,  I 
should  or  should  not  conform  to  the  instructions  of  the 
King,  whose  servant  I  am.  As  reserved  as  you  have 
been  in  your  answer  to  my  message,  I  will  be  unre- 
served and  open  with  you.  Whilst  you  dispute  the  au- 
thority by  which  I  at  first  removed  the  court  from  Bos- 
ton, I  do  not  intend  to  carry  it  thither  again." 

"  Lelius,"  a  writer  in  the  Massachusetts  Gazette, 
(which  was  the  official  organ  of  the  Governor)  under- 
took to  defend  the  Governor,  and  complained  that  he 
was  assailed  in  the  "  language  of  a  porter ; "  to  which 
"  Nedham  "  replies,  —  "  This  writer  ought  to  know  that 
propriety  of  language  must  be  determined  by  a  joint 
consideration  of  the  sentiment  to  be  conveyed,  the  per- 
son addressed,  and  him,  who  is  spoken  of.  Now,  when 
the  sentiment  of  the  heart  is  justly  abhorrent  of  the  tur- 
pitude of  the  culprit,  the  language  of  the  lips  ought  to 
be  expressive  of  the  feelings.  Hence  it  is  becoming  the 
man,  who  acts  from  principle,  to  treat  all  villains  with 
words  and  actions  correspondent  to  their  crimes.  This 
alone  ought  to  silence  one  half  the  clamors  made  about 
civility  and  politeness  to  dignified  knaves  and  robbers. 
Fact  is  a  test  of  just  sentiment.  Truth  is  an  eternal 
standard  of  propriety  in  language." 

The  following  is  from  a  subsequent  number  of  these 
essays :  — 

An  elevated  oppressor  may  make  a  trade  for  life  of  his  oppression, 
and  there  may  be  none  found  to  detect,  or  of  ability  to  punish :  he  may, 
by  betraying  the  interests  of  a  single  town,  make  his  way  to  a  station 
more  fitted  for  the  destruction  of  a  province:  the  fall  of  a  province 
may  give  a  rise  sufficient  for  accomplishing  the  sacrifice  of  a  new 
world:  the  reign  of  a  tyrant — (shame  to  the  morals   and  virtue  of 


188   BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

man !  )  —  is  seldom  thought  a  time  for  complaint,  conviction,  or  punish- 
ment. Thousands  become  interested  to  obey ;  thousands  to  serve  ; 
thousands  to  protect :  the  few  discern,  the  raanj'  gaze,  and  the  tamest 
tremble  :  The  deceivers  and  deceived,  the  oppressors  and  the  oppressed, 
make  so  great  a  part  of  the  community,  that  the  wise  and  good,  the 
noble  and  brave,  are  often  crushed  and  overwhelmed  in  tlic  general  ca- 
lamity. Everj'  sensible  man  knows  that  this  is  not  a  time  to  review  or 
display  in  a  true  light,  Mr.  Hutchinson's  whole  conduct.  Our  business 
is  to  take  such  parts  of  his  administration,  as  we  may  treat  witli  wisdom 
and  safety ;  to  form  a  proper  estimate  of  the  man  from  his  7nore  open 
operations,  and  draw  that  tisrful  knowledge,  which  may  sen^e  to  coun- 
teract or  defeat  his  more  secret,  but  not  less  dangerous  and  desperate  mach- 
inations. 

I  have  kno^vn  this  gentleman  a  selectman  of  the  to^\'n,  a  representa- 
tive, and  a  counselor.  I  have  seen  him  sit  in  judgement,  heard  his 
speeches  and  his  charges,  and  have  now  lived  to  see  him  in  the  chair  of 
government.  I  have  attended  and  marked  him,  and  think  I  know  him. 
As  an  individual,  having  never  received  any  private  injurj'  from  him,  I 
bear  him  no  enmity.  As  far  as  he  is  an  adversan/  of  my  native  country, 
I  am  his  foe.  Disappointed  ambition  (of  which  we  have  sometimes 
heard)  has  not  moved  me;  for  I  never  had  an  ambition,  which  Mr.  H. 
had  an  opjwrtunity  to  gratify;  and,  at  my  present  time  of  life,  and 
health,  I  ouglit  to  feel  no  higher  ambition,  than  that  of  fulfilling  the 
more  important  duties.  Being  advanced  in  age  and  infirmity,  I  wish 
to  see  my  country  free  and  happy ;  that  my  children  may  partake  as 
fair  an  inherit.ancc  as  I  have  received.  These  and  similar  motives 
actuate  me  in  my  present  works,  and,  I  hope,  will  lead  me  to  those  pur- 
suits and  labors,  which  may  render  the  small  residue  of  my  days  profit- 
able to  my  species,  to  whom  I  bear  much  aflfection. 

Believe  me,  my  countrymen,  that  a  love  to  the  himian  race  is  a  moral 
and  religious  duty.  It  is  a  great,  and  too  successful,  art,  which  is  often 
practised,  to  disseminate  an  aversion  of  man  to  man.  More  of  this 
seed  is  sot^ti,  and  more  evils  spring  from  it,  than  is  generally  appre- 
hended. Disunion  inevitably  succeeds  this  aversion,  till  the  divided 
many  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  contracted  yew.  For  this  infernal  purpose, 
the  execrable  Walpole  propagated  his  accursed  maxim  —  "Evert 
MAN  HAS  HIS  PRICE."  For  similar  purposes  the  servile  imitators  of 
that  odious  prostitute  have  continued  to  inculcate  like  principles  and 
doctrines  ;  and,  whether  caroled  at  a  noisy  riot  or  retailed  in  Draper's 
paper,  the  same  object  is  still  ultimately  in  view,  —  To  destroy  all  faith 
and  confidence  among  men,  that  the  subtle  and  rapacious  may  sooner 
subjugate  the  poor  and  innocent.     This  is  the  tine  leading  plan  of  the  rich 


EDES    AND    GILL.  189 

and  powerful ;  —  a  plan,  that  levels  virtue  with  vice,  benevolence  with 
selfishness,  and  all  that  is  good  and  great  with  all  which  is  vile  and 
despicable.  To  oppose  a  project  so  pregnant  of  every  moral  and  polit- 
ical evD,  is  a  common  duty.  He,  who  sneers  at  all  pubhc  virtue,  and 
denies  or  ridicules  the  supposed  existence  of  all  affection  for  mankind, 
betrays  that  turpitude  of  heart,  which  characterized  Satan  in  the  garden 
of  Eden:  —  he  ought  to  be  avoided  as  a  pestilence.  Cultivate  an 
affection  for  each  other,  and  for  the  world  ;  and  let  this  love  be  fervent, 
and  it  will  do  mighty  works.  Oppose  with  bitterness  all,  who  go  about 
to  disunite  the  members  of  that  great  body  —  the  multitude.  I  bless 
GOD  that,  in  early  youth,  I  considered  all  men  as  my  brethren :  and 
now,  in  the  decline  of  life,  if  I  have  one  prominent  desire,  next  to  the 
plaudit  of  my  Creator  and  my  conscience,  it  is,  that  of  having  the 
MANY  to  arise  and  call  me  blessed. 

In  the  Gazette  of  December  20,  is  the  first  number  of  a 
series  entitled  "  Nedham's  Remembrancer,"  intended  as  a 
supplement  to  the  papers  already  noticed.  This  was  a 
few  days  after  the  destruction  of  the  tea  in  the  harbor. 
In  allusion  to  that  proceeding,  the  writer  says  —  "The 
PEOPLE  have  been  mild  and  considerate  ;  they  have  been 
temperate  and  patient.  When  their  mildness  was  called 
timidity,  and  their  consideration  want  of  courage,  they 
did  not  cease  to  reason  and  entreat.  When  their  tem- 
perance was  treated  with  insult,  and  their  patience  with 
contempt,  they  felt  the  injury,  though  they  stayed  their 
vengeance.  When  the  situation  of  public  affairs  called 
them  to  resolve  upon  their  danger  and  duty,  they  were 
unanimous  and  determined  ;  and  when  the  exigency  of 
the  times  increased,  and  resolutions  alone  were  vain,  they 
proceeded  to  action  with  order  and  discretion  ;  and  exe- 
cuted the  only  remaining  duty,  without  unnecessary  out- 
rage and  intemperate  revenge." 

The  same  paper  contains  the  publishers'  account  of 
the  throwing  overboard  of  the  tea.  After  a  brief  re- 
capitulation of  the  proceedings  at  the  several  town-meet- 


190    BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

inffs,  at  which  every  possible  endeavor  to  induce  the 
consignees  to  take  the  teas  back  to  London  had  been 
made,  the  record  proceeds  — "  The  people,  finding  all 
their  efforts  to  preserve  the  property  of  the  East-India 
Company  and  return  it  safely  to  London,  frustrated  by 
the  consignees,  the  collector  of  the  customs,  and  the 
governor  of  the  province,  dissolved  their  meeting. — 
But,  behold  what  followed  !  A  number  of  brave  and 
resolute  men,  determined  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  save 
their  country  from  the  ruin,  which  their  enemies  had 
plotted,  in  less  than  four  hours,  emptied  every  chest  of 
Tea  on  board  the  three  ships  commanded  by  Captains 
Hall,  Bruce,  and  Coffin,  amounting  to  324  chests,  into 
the  sea !  1  without  the  least  damage  done  to  the  ships  or 
any  other  property.  The  masters  and  owners  are  well 
pleased  that  their  ships  are  thus  cleared  ;  and  the  peo- 
ple are  almost  universally  congratulating  each  other  on 
this  happy  event." 

This  series  of  "  Nedham's  Remembrancer,"  extended 
to  seven  numbers.  The  following  are  disconnected  ex- 
tracts :  — 

Think  on  thy  country, 

And  die  in  ten-or  of  tliy  guiltiness. 
Politically  speaking,  the  crime  of  betraying  one's  country  is  —  the 
unpardonable  sin.  No  guilt  more  deeply  poisons  the  heart  and  embit- 
ters reflection.  What  pangs  must  swell  the  breast  of  a  man,  in  the 
close  of  life,  who  looks  back  and  sees  hunself  laboring  to  abridge  the 
liberties  of  his  country,  enslaving  its  inhabitants,  and  procuring  the 
introduction  of  troops,  which  insult  the  civil  magistrate,  and  shed  the 
lilood  of  his  brethren  ?  What  and  how  exquisite  must  be  his  feelings, 
when  he  hears  young  and  old  imprecate  vengeance  on  his  hoary  head, 
and  sees  his  name  and  progeny  blasted  with  execrations  and  infomy  ! 

Jan.  10,  1774. 

Meet  it  is  I  here  set  down, 

That  one  may  smile,  and  smile  and  be  a  villain  ! 


•  EDES    AND    GILL.  191 

And,  with  this  visage,  sugar  o'er 

The  Devil  himself- 
Subterfuge  and  evasion  are  the  true  characteristics  of  a  little  mind; 
and  so  are  falsehood  and  cowardice.  Such  artifices  are  but  temporary 
expedients  wliich  great  souls  scorn  to  use ;  like  base  coin  they  may  pass 
currently  with  the  ignorant  and  incautious  for  a  time,  but  the  cheat  is 
soon  discovered,  and  the  impostor  is  punished  and  remains  infamous 
for  life.  Thus  he,  who  practises  the  low  arts  of  political  cunning,  will, 
in  the  end,  be  detected,  and  sink  into  contempt,  unless  his  crimes  and 
his  station  consign  him  to  an  exemplary  punishment  and  everlasting 
infamy.  Jan.  17,  1774. 

These  objurgatory  passages  are  introductory  to  ani- 
madversions on  the  conduct  of  Governor  Hutchinson, 
most  tremendously  severe  and  biting.  That,  which  fol- 
lows, is  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  series  :  — 

Thus  have  I  considered  Mr.  Hutchinson  as  degrading  the  highest 
station  in  the  law  to  the  lowest  office  of  the  inquisition ;  as  descending 
from  the  rank  of  chief  justice  to  that  of  a  common  informer  : 
an  informer  against  "  particular  persons  and  the  province  in  general : " 
—  yes,  —  the  dark  assassin  o^ private  characters  and  ms  native  coun- 
try. 

Convinced,  as  I  am,  that  Governor  Hutchinson,  in  defiance  of  every 
principle  of  right,  eveiy  sentiment  of  honor  and  gratitude  ;  convinced, 
I  say,  that  he  is  the  first,  the  most  malignant  and  insatiable  enemy  of 
my  country ;  —  that  he  is  the  chief  author  and  supporter  of  the  severest 
calamities  under  which  this  people  labor ;  —  convinced  that  he  has  done 
more  general  mischiefs,  and  committed  greater  public  crimes,  than  his 
life  can  i-epair  or  his  death  satisfy ;  —  and  that  he  is  the  man,  against 
whom  the  blood  of  my  slaughtered  brethren  cries  from  the  ground  ;  I 
have,  and  shall,  as  strength  is  given  me,  pursue  him.  And  if,  at  this 
time  of  life,  I  am  too  old  for  an  avenger  of  blood,  I  am  also  too 
young  to  desert  the  service  of  my  country.  But  it  may  be  profitable 
now  to  leave  him  to  the  reflections  of  his  own  conscience — the  anguish 
of  a  departing  spirit.  And  if  he  be  not  speedily  called  to  the  great  bar 
of  the  universe,  peradveuture  I  shall  once  more  call  him  —  but  with  no 
friendly  voice  —  to  the  highest,  the  most  terrible,  tribunal  on  earth  ;  — 
the  tribunal  of  his  injured  countrymen. 

Addressing  to  the  contemplations  of  his  pillow,  I  close,  for  the  pres- 
ent, with  the  words  of  a  favorite  author :  — 


192    BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

YoD  have  lived  long  enough ;  your  way  of  life 
Is  fallen  into  the  sear,  the  yellow  leaf, 
And  that  which  should  accompany  old  age, 
As  honor,  love,  obedience,  troops  of  friends, 
You  must  not  look  to  have :     But,  in  their  stead, 
Curses,  both  loud  and  deep. 

JL\.KCHMONT  NeDHAM. 

This  is  supposed  to  be  the  last  article  written  by  Mr. 
Quincy,  for  publication.  He  went  to  England,  soon 
after,  on  account  of  ill  health.  In  INIarch,  1775,  he  set 
out  on  his  return.  "  On  the  20th  of  April,  within  sight 
of  that  beloved  country,  which  he  was  not  permitted  to 
reach,  he  expired.  A  few  hours  after  his  death,  the 
ship,  with  his  lifeless  remains,  entered  the  harbor  of 
Gloucester,  Cape  Ann."  * 

The  writers  for  the  Gazette,  for  several  years  which 
preceded  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  were 
numerous,  bold,  fearless,  and  patriotic.  Several  volumes 
might  be  filled  with  their  productions,  —  inculcating  the 
principles  of  civil  and  religious  freedom,  and  exposing 
the  hypocrisy  and  knavery  of  their  rulers,  and  the  agents 
of  the  government.  One  united  spirit  of  hostility  to  the 
arbitrary  exercise  of  power  and  prerogative  pervaded 
their  minds,  and  each  seemed  strengthened  and  invigo- 
rated by  contact  with  another.  It  is  to  be  lamented 
that  so  few  of  these  interesting  and  important  papers  can 
now  be  appropriately  assigned  to  their  respective  au- 
thors. If  the  writers  of  the  papers  signed  "  Vindex," 
*'  A  Military  Countryman,"  "  A  Bostonian,"  (Letters  to 
Sir  Francis  Bernard,)  "  Candidus,"  "  Fervidus,"  &c., 
could  now  be  ascertained,  their  names  might  pass  to  pos- 

♦  Memoir  of  Josiah  Quincy,  jun.,  by  Josiali  Quincy,  p.  348. 


EDES    AND    GILL.  193 

terity  with  honors  hke  those  attached  to  the  names  of 
Otis,*  Quincy,  and  the  Adamses. 

The  closing  of  the  harbor  of  Boston,  by  an  act  of  the 
British  Parliament  known  as  The  Boston  Port  Bill, 
furnished  the  writers  in  the  Gazette  with  a  subject  for  many 
columns  of  animadversion,  and  they  availed  themselves 
of  the  opportunity  to  address  their  countrymen  in  lan- 
guage, that  could  not  fail  to  stir  up  all  the  spirit  of 
patriotism. 

In  May,  1774,  Governor  Hutchinson  was  superseded 
by  General  Gage,  and  an  attempt  was  made  by  Parlia- 
ment to  change  the  organization  of  the  government  of 
the  province.  The  act  provided  that  the  counselors  — 
twenty-eight  in  number  —  hitherto  chosen  by  the  General 
Court  —  should  thereafter  be  appointed  by  the  king. 
This  act  excited  such  general  and  violent  opposition, 
that  many  of  the  counselors,  thus  appointed,  resigned,  or 
declined  to  accept  the  office.  The  proceedings  of  the 
inhabitants  of  several  towns  in  the  county  of  Worcester, 
assembled  at  Rutland,  will  give  an  idea  of  the  prevalent 
feeling  on  this  subject.  It  is  stated  in  the  Gazette  of 
September  5,  that  the  assembly  was  composed  of  up- 
wards of  a  thousand  persons,  who  intended  to  wait  on 
John  Murray,  Esq.  of  Rutland,  "  in  order  to  converse 
with  him  upon  his  new  and  unconstitutional  appointment 
and  acceptance  as  a  counselor,"  but  to  their  disappoint- 
ment, they  found  that  on  the  preceding  evening  he  had 
been   apprized   of  their  intention,  and  had   absconded 

*  Although  it  is  Itnown  that  Otis  was  a  frequent  writer  for  the  newspapers,  and 
one  of  the  most  ardent  VVliigs  of  his  day,  I  believe  that  no  one  has  attempted  to 
identify  the  articles  that  came  from  his  pen,  except  a  few  in  the  early  volumes  of 
the  Gazette,  which  are  signed  with  his  name.  Many  of  the  Massachusetts  State 
Papers  were  of  his  composition.    See  Tudor's  Life  of  Otis. 

17 


194    BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

from  his  dwelling.     The  people  retired,  after  directing  a 

committee  to  leave  the  following  notice  with  his  family : 

To  John  ^Murray,  Esq. 

Rutland,  August  27,  1774. 
Sir, 

As  YOU  have  proved  yourself  to  he  an  open  enemy  to  this  pro- 
vince hy  your  late  conduct  in  general,  and  in  particular  in  accepting  the 
late  appointment  as  an  unconstitutional  counselor;  in  consequence 
whereof  a  large  number  of  men  from  several  towns  are  assembled,  who 
are  fulh'  determined  to  prevent  your  holding  said  oflicc  as  Counselor, 
at  the  risque  of  our  lives  and  fortunes ;  and  not  finding  you  at  home, 
think  proper  to  propose  to  your  serious  consideration  the  following,  viz. 
That  you  make  an  immediate  resignation  of  your  office  as  a  Counselor. 
Your  compliance  as  above,  published  in  each  of  the  Boston  News- 
Prints  by  the  Tenth  Day  of  September  next,  will  save  the  People  of 
this  County  the  Trouble  of  waiting  on  you  immediately  afterwards. 
In  the  name  and  Behalf  of  the  whole  Assembly  now  present. 

WILLARD  MOORE, 
Chairman  of  a  Committee 

chosen  for  the  Purposes  aforesaid. 

It  is  not  known  whether  INlr.  INIurray  complied  with 
the  requisition,  nor  do  I  find  any  account  of  further  pro- 
ceedings in  his  case  :  But  several  of  the  Counselors 
did  resign  their  offices,  and  gave  public  notice  of  their 
resignation,  after  the  following  fashion :  — 

Sturbridge,  August  25,  1774. 
Whereas  I,  Abijah  Willard  of  Lancaster,  have  been  appointed  by 
mandamus  a  Counselor  for  this  province,  and  have  without  due  Con- 
sideration taken  the  Oath,  do  now  freely  and  solemnly  declare  that  I 
am  heartily  sorry  that  I  have  taken  the  said  Oath,  and  do  hereby  sol- 
emnly and  in  good  faith  promise  and  engage  that  I  will  not  sit  or  act 
in  said  Council,  nor  in  any  other  that  sliall  be  appointed  in  such  man- 
ner and  form ;  but  that  I  will,  as  much  as  in  me  lies,  maintain  the 
Charter  Rights  and  Liberties  of  this  Province,  and  do  hereby  ask  for- 
giveness of  all  the  honest,  worthy  Gentlemen  that  I  have  oft'ended  by 
taking  the  abovesaid  Oath,  and  desire  this  may  be  inserted  in  the  public 
Prints. 

Witness  my  Hand, 

ABIJAH  WILLARD. 


• EDES    AND    GILL.  195 

Many  of  the  Sheriffs  and  their  Deputies  refused  to 
perform  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  and  Jurors 
in  several  counties  refused  to  be  sworn  ;  but  a  notice  in 
detail  of  their  resignations,  protests,  and  recantations, 
and  prayers  to  be  forgiven,  would  be  sufficient  to  form  a 
separate  history.  The  number  of  those,  who  solicited 
from  their  fellow-citizens  forgiveness  for  having  signed  a 
complimentary  address  to  Governor  Hutchinson  on  his 
leaving  the  country  was  not  inconsiderable.  A  single 
specimen  must  suffice :  — 

To  the  PUBLIC. 

Amidst  the  various  enjoyments  of  Human  Life,  none  affords  me 
greater  satisfaction  than  the  Society  and  Esteem  of  my  Fellow-Men, 
which  I  find  I  have  in  a  great  measure  lost,  by  signing  an  Address  to 
the  late  Governor  Hutchinson  :  And  had  I  the  least  suspicion  that  the 
said  Address  would  have  given  such  general  Discontent,  it  should  not 
have  had  my  name  to  it.  I  am  heartily  soiry  for  the  offence  it  has 
occasioned,  and  I  do  hereby  renounce  said  Address  in  all  Respects,  and 
beg  the  Forgiveness  of  the  Ptxblic,  and  to  be  reinstated  in  their  Favor, 
assuring  them  that  none  shall  be  foremost  in  the  Defence  of  the  Liber- 
ties and  Privileges  of  their  Country,  both  civil  and  religious,  than  their 
humble  servant,  JOHN  WEBB. 

Marblehead,  Sept.  4. 

All  these  things  prepared  the  people  for  open  and 
organized  resistance  to  the  acts  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment. The  General  Court  met  at  Salem  on  the  5th  of 
October,  agreeably  to  a  writ  issued  by  the  Governor, 
and  after  waiting  two  days  without  receiving  any  com- 
munication from  him,  resolved  itself  into  a  Provincial 
Congress,  and  adjourned  to  meet  in  Concord  on  the  11th 
of  the  same  month.  The  proceedings  of  this  body, 
which  are  given  at  large  in  the  Gazette,  are  full  of  inter- 
est, and  should  be  studied  by  every  one  who  seeks  for 


196    BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

an  acquaintance  with  the  poUtical  and  civil  history  of 
the  country. 

In  the  Spring  of  1775,  the  town  of  Boston  being  in 
possession  of  the  British  troops,  Edes  contrived  to  evade 
the  vigilance  of  their  guards,  and  went  to  Watertown, 
with  an  old  press  and  one  or  two  imperfect  founts  of 
type.  Here  he  continued  to  print  the  Boston  Gazette. 
Owing  to  the  difficulty  of  procuring  paper  and  ink,  of  a 
decent  quality,  the  paper,  during  the  whole  period  of  its 
publication  in  this  place,  was  but  a  poor  specimen  of 
printing.  The  Provincial  Congress  was  then  sitting  at 
Watertown  ;  and  the  Gazette  is  chiefly  filled  with  the 
proceedings  of  that  body,  and  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, which  was  sitting  at  Philadelphia. 

Soon  after  the  evacuation  of  Boston  by  the  British 
troops,  Edes  returned  to  the  town.  The  partnership  of 
Edes  &t  Gill  was  dissolved,  and  the  Gazette  was  con- 
tinued by  Edes  and  his  two  sons,  Benjamin  and  Peter. 
He  persevered  in  his  patriotic  career,  with  all  the  talent 
he  possessed,  and  with  as  much  ardor  as  ever.  But  the 
number  of  his  contributors  was  much  diminished,  and 
those,  which  remained,  lacked  the  brilliancy,  the  elo- 
quence, and  the  fire,  which  gave  character  and  energy 
to  the  productions  of  Otis,  Quincy,  Warren,  and  the 
Adamses.  By  a  violent  and  ruffianly  assault,  Otis  had 
been  disabled  from  writing  ;  Quincy  had  fallen  a  pre- 
mature victim  to  disease  ;  Warren  had  been  sacrificed  on 
Bunker-Hill ;  John  Adams  was  busy  in  the  public  ser- 
vice, and  Samuel  Adams,  if  he  continued  to  write  for 
the  press,  —  as  he  doubtless  did,  though  probably  less 
frequently  than  formerly,  —  was  much  and  laboriously 
engaged  in  the  performance  of  duties  devolved  upon  him 


EDES    AND    SONS.  197 

by  the  state.  Though  the  Gazette  was  occasionally 
enriched  by  powerful  communications,  it  was  not  what 
it  had  been.  During  the  Revolutionary  War  its  conduct- 
ors were  faithful  and  prompt  in  collecting  and  publishing 
intelligence,  and  the  Gazette  may  now  be  examined  with 
advantage  by  all,  who  wish  to  read  a  narrative  of  the 
stirring  events  of  that  period  in  its  freshest  and  most 
touching  aspect. 

The  General  Court,  at  its  winter  session  in  1785, 
passed  an  act  laying  a  duty  of  "  two  thirds  of  a  penny  " 
on  every  newspaper  and  almanack  that  might  be  pub- 
lished. It  excited  strong  opposition.  The  name  of 
Stamp  Act  was  offensive  to  the  people.  Edes  came  out 
boldly  in  opposition  to  the  measure.  At  the  succeeding 
session  the  act  was  so  modified  as  to  lay  the  tax  on 
advertisements.  This  gave  no  better  satisfaction  than 
the  original  law,  and  a  writer  in  the  Gazette,  under 
the  signature  of  "  The  Printer's  Friend,"  sustained 
the  opposition  with  considerable  force  of  argument. 
Here  is  one  of  Edes's  articles,  which  evinces  rather  an 
ingenious  mode  of  evading  the  penalty  of  the  law  :  — 

The  sixteenth  article  of  our  Bill  of  Rights  says  "  The  Liberty  of  the 
Press  is  essential  to  the  security  of  Freedom  in  a  State  :  It  ought  not 
therefore  to  be  restrained  in  this  commonwealth." 

While  the  papers  of  the  other  states  are  crowded  with  advertisements, 
(fi-ee  of  duty)  those  of  this  state  are  almost  destitute  thereof;  which 
justly  occasions  the  oppressed  printers  of  those  shackled  presses  to 
make  their  separate  complaints,  as  many  do,  owing  to  their  being  pro- 
hibited advertising  in  their  own  papers  their  own  Books  and  Stationery 
without  incurring  a  penalty  therefor.  We,  for  the  same  reason  that  our 
brother  Typographers  use,  forbear  publishing  that  Bibles,  Testaments, 
Psalters,  Spelling-Books,  Primers,  Almanacks,  ^-c.  besides  Stationery  and 
all  kinds  of  Blanks,  may  be  had  at  No.  42,  Corahill. 

The  duty  on  advertisements  also  prevents  our  publishing  that  we 
have  lately  reprinted  an  excellent  moral  Discourse,  entitled,  "The 
17* 


198         BOSTON  GAZETTE   AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

Shortness  and  Afflictions  of  Human  Life  illustrated,"  for  the  price  of 
said  book  being  but  eight  pence,  it  will  take  away  the  profits  of  too 
many ;  and  perhaps  encourage  gorenmient  to  continue  this  burthen." 

From  the  first  of  July,  1794,  till  its  discontinuance^ 
the  Gazette  was  published  by  Benjamin  Edes,  senior, 
alone,  both  sons  having  previously  left  the  concern. 
The  day  of  its  popularity,  and,  consequently,  that  of  its 
prosperity,  was  past.  Differences  of  opinion,  concern- 
ing public  measures,  had  weakened  old  associations  and 
contributed  to  the  organization  of  new  parties.  Edes 
and  some  of  his  correspondents  were  opposed  to  the 
constitution  for  the  United  States,  as  prepared  by  the 
Convention  of  1787,  and  expressed  their  disapprobation 
of  some  of  its  features,  in  terms  of  great  bitterness  ;  and 
when  it  was  finally  adopted,  the  federal  administration 
was  treated  with  contumely  and  abuse.  They  were 
ardent  friends  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  justified, 
to  the  fullest  extent,  most  of  the  proceedings  of  whatever 
party  gained  or  held  ascendency  in  Paris.  Thus  they 
became  identified  with  the  Jacobin  societies,  that  were 
formed  in  our  country  ;  and  as  their  sympathies  for 
France  were  excited,  their  animosity  to  England  gained 
strength.  The  Federalists,  —  then  the  dominant  party 
in  the  United  States,  —  or,  at  least  in  New-England,  — 
were  accused  of  subserviency  to  Great-Britain,  and  ingrat- 
itude towards  France.  The  policy  of  the  federal  ad- 
ministration was  condemned  ;  and  though  Washington 
and  his  acts  were  spoken  of  with  some  degree  of  defer- 
ence,—  apparently  with  unwilling  respect, —  Adams 
and  Hamilton  were  treated  with  savage  ferocity,  as 
aristocrats  and  monarchists.  The  funding  system  was 
the  constant  theme  of  abuse,  from  those  who  believed. 


BENJAMIN    EDES.  199 

or  pretended  to  believe,  that  the  government  was  in  the 
hands  of  men,  who  were  wilhng  to  sacrifice  pubHc  honor 
and  pubhc  faith  to  private  speculation  and  emolument. 

Jay's  treaty  was  another  topic  of  angry  discussion  be- 
tween the  federal  and  republican  parties.  Edes  and  his 
assistants  opposed  it  with  all  the  vigor  and  vituperation 
that  political  ferocity  could  invent  or  exercise.  But  in 
all  this,  the  Gazette  was  only  playing  a  second  part. 
The  Chronicle  was  the  accredited  organ  of  the  Repub- 
lican, or  anti-federal  party,  and  had  the  aid  of  several 
writers  of  great  ability,  among  whom  was  one,  —  Ben- 
jamin Austin,  jun.  —  who,  as  a  popular  writer,  was  equal 
to  any  one  that  ever  undertook  to  support  and  vindicate 
that  party.  Several  attempts  were  made  by  Edes  and 
his  Sons,  —  by  appeals  to  public  sympathy  and  justice, 
—  to  keep  up  the  credit  of  the  Gazette,  and  to  secure  a 
larger  share  of  the  public  favor ;  but  without  effect. 
The  symptoms  of  poverty,  which  were  exhibited  in  the 
mechanical  execution,  —  to  say  nothing  of  the  decay  of 
intellectual  power,  plainly  discernible  in  the  original 
matter,  —  foretold  the  fate  that  awaited  it,  and  the  ab- 
sence of  any  redeeming  attribute  in  its  conductors. 

What,  in  its  years  of  decline,  the  Boston  Gazette 
wanted  of  that  soberness  and  dignity,  that  might  have 
rendered  its  old  age  useful  and  respectable,  was  made  up 
in  querulous  complainings  and  bitter  and  vulgar  person- 
ality. No  distinguished  Federalist  escaped  the  abuse, 
which  was  rendered  contemptible  by  its  grossness  and 
vulgarity.  In  1794-5,  a  series  of  papers,  entitled  "  A 
Review  of  the  Jacobiniad,"  appeared  in  the  Federal 
Orrery.  The  authorship"  of  these  papers  was  attributed 
to  the  Rev.  J.  S.  J.  Gardiner,  then  the  assistant  minis- 


200    BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

ter  of  Trinity  Church.  Assuming  for  a  fact  that  Mr. 
Gardiner  was  the  real  author,  he  became  an  object  on 
which  whole  columns  of  personal  abuse  were  poured. 
The  persons  who  were  the  subjects  of  satire  in  the  Ja- 
cobiniad,  had,  in  truth,  great  provocation,  —  for,  it  must 
be  confessed,  they  were  lampooned  without  mercy, — 
and,  in  return,  they  and  their  political  associates  availed 
themselves  of  the  barrenness  of  the  Boston  Gazette,  to 
repay  their  obligation  with  a  liberal  usury.  Mr.  Gardi- 
ner was  called  a  "  sycophant,"  a  "  scoundrel,"  "  the  su- 
percilious and  bombastic  curate,"  a  "journeyman 
reader,"  a  "  desperado,"  and  other  names  of  reproach, 
too  numerous  to  be  repeated  ;  and  was  accused  of  more 
sins  than  are  forbidden  in  the  Decalogue.  The  reader, 
who  wishes  to  see  what  flowers  were  gathered  in  the 
fields  of  Billingsgate  to  embellish  these  out-pourings  of 
gall,  is  referred  to  the  early  numbers  of  the  Gazette  of 
1795. 

The  evidences  of  poverty  and  destitution  excited 
less  resentment  than  compassion,  for  the  old  veteran  of 
the  revolutionary  press.  One  of  his  touching  appeals  to 
the  sympathy  of  the  public,  was  noticed  by  a  corre- 
spondent of  the  Orrery,  who  proposed  a  plan  for  his  re- 
lief,—  "suggested  by  a  genuine  gratitude  to  Mr.  Edes 
for  his  past  devotedness  to  his  country,  and  a  sensibility 
to  his  present  distress."  As  the  age  of  Mr.  Edes  was 
believed  to  incapacitate  him  for  the  active  duties  required 
of  an  editor  of  a  newspaper,  the  proposal  was  that  "  a 
subscription  be  opened  for  him,  of  one  dollar  and  fifty 
cents  each  subscriber,  annually,  during  Mr.  Edes's  life," 
not  to  enable  him  to  carry  on  the  Gazette,  but  "  bot- 
tomed on  the  consideration  of  his  long,  faithful,  and  im- 


BENJAMIN    EDES.  201 

portant  devotion  to  the  cause  of  his  country,  in  her  most 
arduous  and  perilous  times.  From  some  inquiry,  that  I 
have  made,  (the  writer  adds,)  I  am  confident  that  this 
town  will  give  an  example  of  at  least  four  hundred  vol- 
untary subscribers.  With  such  a  merited  and  generous 
benefit  on  his  last  exhibition,  this  distinguished  typo- 
graphic supporter  of  the  political  drama  may  retire  from 
the  stage,  and,  from  behind  the  scenes,  review  with  sat- 
isfaction his  own  performances  ;  and,  commensurate  with 
his  existence,  enjoy  the  life-supporting  plaudits  of  a 
numerous,  grateful,  and  admiring  auditory." 

It  is  presumed  that  neither  Edes's  appeals  to  the  pub- 
lic, nor  the  suggestions  of  the  writer  in  the  Orrery,  pro- 
duced any  effect;  for,  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1797, 
he  again  solicited  attention  to  his  forlorn  condition,  as 
follows  :  — 

The  aged  editor  of  the  Gazette  to  the  Public. 
A  few  years  since,  the  misfortunes  and  necessities  of  my  family  in- 
duced me  to  throw  myself  on  the  benevolence  of  that  Public,  to  which, 
as  an  editor  of  a  paper,  I  have  for  ujDwards  of  forty-one  years  been  a 
faithful  servant,  as  far  as  my  abilities  and  the  purity  of  my  principles 
would  enable  me.  I  wish  not  to  boast,  but  a  consciousness  of  the 
integrity  of  my  motives,  and  the  conspicuous  part,  which  I  took  in 
those  perilous  times,  when  not  only  Liberty  but  Life,  were  suspended 
on  the  issue,  justify  me,  at  this  late  period  of  my  existence,  in  glory- 
ing in  those  duties,  which  as  a  citizen  I  was  called  on  to  perform.  The 
Boston  Gazette  was  both  the  Herald  and  the  Centinel,  in  the  days  of 
Otis,  Hancock,  the  Adamses,  Warren,  &c.  while  contending  against 
Britain !  when  their  declaratory  act  was  expressive  of  the  disposition  of 
that  arrogant  nation,  when  they  assumed  a  right  to  "  tax  us  in  all  cases 
whatsoever ! "  when  the  streets  of  Boston  were  crimsoned  with  the 
blood  of  our  slaughtered  citizens  !  At  these  all-trying  periods,  did  you, 
my  fellow-citizens,  ever  find  the  Boston  Gazette  deficient  in  a  manly 
and  energetic  remonstrance  against  these  horrid  and  cruel  impositions  1 
Did  an  Otis  at  that  time  seek  in  vain  to  declare  his  principles  through 
this  channel  ?  —  or  did  Warren  unnerve  himself  ov  the  cause  of  freedom, 
by  strains  of  submission,  through  this  conveyance  ?  —  No,  fellow-citizens  ; 


202   BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

the  Gazette  of  Edes  &  Gill,  was  always  subservient  to  the  cause  of 
Freedom,  and  this  was  the  clarion,  Avhich  announced  through  the 
continent  the  sentiments  of  your  Patriots.  Soon  expecting  to  qnitthis 
world,  for  the  mansions  of  those,  where  honesty  and  integrity  will  be 
rewarded,  by  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  Universe,  I  shall  submit  the 
following  simple  statement  of  my  determination  and  situation,  and 
then  resign  myself  to  that  fate  which  Providence  may  allot  me  in  my 
retirement — conscious,  however,  that  I  have  scn-cd  my  country  with 
faithfulness,  and  the  most  disinterested  zeal,  I  cannot  but  observe  with 
regret,  that  thousands  have  become  enriched  by  a  base  speculation  on 
those  services  which  have  impoverished  me  and  many  others. 

\X^  The  aged  Editor  of  the  Gazette  jirescnts  the  com])limcnts  of  the 
Season  to  his  generous  Benefactors,  and  invites  all  those  who  have  any 
demands  on  him,  to  call  and  receive  their  dues :  He  likewise  reciuesta 
those  of  his  Customers,  who  are  two,  three,  and  more  years  in  debt,  to 
discharge  their  arrears,  as  he  finds  it  impossible  to  live  upon  the  wind, 
and  promises  equally  uncertain.  By  the  indulgence  of  Providence  he 
is  determined  to  complete  the  42d  year  of  publication,  which  will  end 
the  last  of  March  ensuing,  (and  which  is  longer  than  any  Printer  in  the 
United  States  ever  did  before,  only  one  excepted)  after  which  time  he 
shall  discontinue  its  publication,  unless  he  meets  with  greater  encour- 
agement than  he  has  had  for  more  than  two  years  past.  The  former 
number  of  subscribers  to  the  Gazette  (in  times  which  tried  men's  souls, 
and  bodies  too)  were  upwards  of  Two  Thousand ;  near  three  fourths  of 
which  are  no  more.  But  being  now  reduced  to  400,  and  not  advertise- 
ments enough  Weekly  to  procure  Paper,  he  is  necessitated  to  relinquish 
publishing  it  any  longer  than  the  Time  before  mentioned. 

BENJAMIN  EDES. 

These  pathetic  calls  on  the  public  produced  no  effect- 
ual relief.  The  subscribers  diminished  almost  daily  in 
numbers,  and  those,  who  remained,  were  actuated  chiefly 
by  motives  of  compassion  and  benevolence.  The  pub- 
lication of  the  Gazette  was  continued  to  September  17, 
1798,  the  close  of  the  forty-third  year  of  its  existence. 
The  paper  of  that  date  thus  announces  its  last  appear- 
ance, in  the  farewell  address  of  its  editor :  — 
K^  The  EDITOR'S  Farewell. 
The  Editor  of  the  Boston  Gazette  after  repeated  attempts  to  prose- 
cute his  professional  occupation,  in  the  decUniny  period  of  his  life,  is  at 


BENJAMIN    EDES.  203 

length  obliL^ed  to  relinquish  his  exertions,  and  to  retire  to  those  melan- 
choly paths  of  domestic  embarrassments,  to  which  misfortune  has  con- 
signed liim. 

While  thus  passing  tlie  gloomy  valley  of  old  age  and  uijirmitjj,  his 
consolation  still  i-ests  on  that  staff,  which  can  support  a  mind  con- 
scious of  its  own  rectitude ;  and  though  he  often  feels  the  tlioras  and 
briers  on  the  road,  goading  him  in  his  passage,  yet  he  patiently  suffers 
under  these  afflictions,  hoping  that  ere  long  he  shall  arrive  at  that  peace- 
ful abode,  "  where  the  weary  are  at  rest." 

During  upwai-ds  of  forty-three  years  of  hard  labor  in  that  "art 
WHICH  SUPPORTS  ALL  ARTS,"  hc  has  Uniformly  attempted  to  vindicate 
the  Rights  of  his  Country.  He  early  made  himself  conspicuous  as 
the  scourge  of  tyrants — His  press  was  the  asylum  of  the  distressed  — 
through  that  medium  an  injured  people  could  ever  express  their  wrongs, 
or  plan  measures  for  their  deliverance.  At  that  afflicting  Crisis, 
when  America  lay  groaning  under  the  innumerable  tortures  of  a  re- 
lentless nation,  the  Boston  Gazette  was  employed  as  the  Herald  to 
sound  the  alarm  through  the  most  remote  parts  of  the  Continent. 

The  Patriots  of  our  Country,  at  those  "  times  which  tried  men's  souls," 
were  constantly  assembled  within  the  confines  of  his  office,  and  their 
manuscripts  were  displayed  as  with  a  Telegraph,  in  legible  charac- 
ters, within  the  columns  of  his  pei-iodical  publications. 

Adams,  Hancock,  Warren,  with  a  train  of  co-patriots,  were  his 
chosen  intimates;  under  their  guidance  and  direction,  he  stood  on  the 
Watch  Tower,  and,  like  a  ftiitliful  Soldier  in  the  cause  of  Freedom, 
ever  held  himself  ready,  and  willing,  to  fall  or  7-ise  with  the  ruin  or 
happiness  of  his  country. 

But,  alas !  the  cause  of  Liberty  is  not  always  the  channel  of  pre- 
ferment or  pecuniai-y  reward.  The  little  property  which  he  acquired 
has  long  since  fell  a  sacrifice ;  —  the  paper-evidences  of  his  services  were 
soon  consumed  by  their  rapid  depreciation,  and  the  cares  of  a  numerous 
family  were  too  powerful  to  be  resisted,  though  he  fed  them  with  prop- 
erty at  four  shillings  and  sixpence  in  the  pound,  which  he  faithfully  and 
industriously  earned  at  twenty  shillings. 

However,  it  is  beneath  a  patriot  to  mourn  his  own  misfortunes.  The 
Independence  of  America  being  obtained,  he  enjoys  the  pleasing 
contemplation,  that  the  same  virtuous  sentiments  which  led  to  the  acquisi- 
tion will  not  cease  to  operate  for  its  continuance  —  That  his  fellow- 
citizens  will  ever  revere  the  first  principles  of  the  Revolution ;  and 
it  is  his  earnest  prayer  to  Heaven,  that  the  rising  generation  will 
remember  the  exertions  of  their  fathers,  in  opposing  the  lawless 
attempts  of  Britain  for  their  subjugation. 


204   BOSTON  GAZETTE  AND  COUNTRY  JOURNAL. 

Let  the  citizens  of  America  reverence  themselves.  Let  them 
strive  to  maintain  the  republican  principles  of  their  ovm  Constitu- 
tion; and  wliile  practising  these  duties,  we  may  trust  to  the  guardian 
Angel,  which  has  conducted  us  through  dangers,  the  most  alarming 
and  distressing. 

And  now,  ray  Fellow-Citizens,  I  hid  you  FAREWELL  !  AL^^intain 
TOUR  Virtue  —  cherish  tour  Liberties  —  and  may  the  Al- 
mighty protect  and  defend  you.  B.  Edes. 
Boston,  Sept.  17,  1798 — and  in  (he  Forty-fourth  Year  of  the  Independ- 
ence of  tlie  BOSTON  GAZETTE. 

Benjamin  Edes,  the  senior  partner  of  the  firm  of 
Edes  &-  Gill,  was  born  in  Charlestown  in  1723.  I  have 
not  been  able  to  obtain  any  account  of  his  apprentice- 
ship or  education.  His  learning  was  probably  acquired 
at  the  common  schools  in  Charlestown  or  Boston,  ex- 
cept that,  which  experience  and  the  native  energies  of 
his  mind  enabled  him  to  obtain.  He  began  business  in 
Boston,  in  company  with  John  Gill,  in  1755.  The 
partnership  continued  twenty  years.  He  was  a  man  of 
untiring  industry  and  perseverance.  When  the  Revo- 
lutionary War  began  he  had  accumulated  a  handsome 
property,  which,  if  he  had  been  less  indulgent  to  his 
patriotic  propensities,  might  have  afforded  him  a  compe- 
tent support  to  the  end  of  his  life.  He  was  ever  ready 
to  contribute  to  the  necessities  of  individuals  and  to  the 
requirements  of  the  public.  What  he  had  preserved 
during  the  war,  was  lost  at  its  close,  by  the  depreciation 
of  the  paper  currency.  After  he  gave  up  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Gazette,  he  continued  to  work  at  his  business, 
whenever  he  could  procure  employment  in  the  way  of 
jobbing.  He  had  several  daughters  depending  for  sub- 
sistence on  the  scanty  income  derived  from  this  precari- 
ous source.  In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1800,  his  old 
and  worn-out  types  and  press  were  in  a  small  wooden 


BENJAMIN    EDES.  205 

building  on  the  westerly  side  of  Kilby  street,  in  a  cham- 
ber over  a  tin-plate-worker's  shop.  He  removed  the  mis- 
erable remains  of  founts  of  letter,  on  which  had  been 
impressed  some  of  the  finest  patriotic  productions,  to  a 
house  in  Temple-street,  in  which  he  lived.  In  1801,  I 
had  occasion  to  call  on  him,  at  his  printing-room,  and 
found  him  at  work  on  a  small  job  at  the  case,  while  an 
elderly  female  (probably  one  of  his  daughters)  was  at 
the  press,  striking  off  shop-bills.  The  venerable  form 
of  the  old  man,  setting  types  "  with  spectacles  on  nose," 
and  the  singular  sight  of  a  woman,  beating  and  pulling 
at  the  press,  together  with  the  aspect  of  destitution,  that 
pervaded  the  whole  apartment,  presented  a  scene  well 
adapted  to  excite  sympathy,  and  to  make  an  impression 
on  the  mind,  which  the  vicissitudes  of  fifty  years  have 
not  effaced.  At  length  the  infirmities  of  age  overcame 
his  physical  powers,  and  the  curse  of  poverty  lay  heavily 
on  his  spirit.  Oppressed  with,  years  and  sickness,  neg- 
lected and  forgotten  by  those,  who  enjoyed  the  blessings 
he  had  helped  to  secure,  he  died  in  December,  1803,  at 
the  age  of  eighty  years. 


18 


THE  BOSTON  WEEKLY  ADVERTISER. 


The  first  number  of  this  paper  was  published,  August 

22,   1757,  by  Green  &;  Russell.     At  the  head  of  the 

first  column  is  the  following  :  — 

The  Trixters  to  the  PUBLIC. 
Gentlemen, 

Agreeable  to  our  Printed  Proposals,  Published  some  Time  since. 
The  first  Number  of  the  Weekly  Advertiser,  now  makes  its  Appearance, 
And  as  the  Continuation  of  it  will  greatly  depend  on  the  favorable 
Reception  it  meets  with  from  the  Public,  We  shall  use  our  utmost  En- 
deavors to  collect  from  Time  to  Time,  the  newest  and  best  Intelligence, 
both  Foreign  and  Domestic :  and  shall  always  be  obliged  to  any  Gen- 
tlemen, that  will  favor  us  with  Pieces  of  Speculation,  provided  they 
are  wrote  in  a  manner  consistent  witli  Decency  and  Public  Peace.  It 
being  our  only  Intention,  as  far  as  lies  in  our  Power,  to  promote 
Knowledge,  Vertue,  and  innocent  Amusement. 

The  invitation  to  gentlemen  to   favor  the  publishers 

with  "  Pieces  of  Speculation  "  does  not  appear  to  have 

produced  many  original    contributions.     For    the    first 


GREEN    AND    RUSSELL.  207 

year  of  the  publication,  the  paper  is  entirely  barren  of 
any  thing  of  a  literary  character.  It  is  well  filled,  1  ow- 
ever,  with  foreign  and  domestic  intelligence,  selected 
from  other  papers.  Its  advertisements  are  numerous. 
August  14,  1758,  the  publishers  have  a  short  advertise- 
ment of  their  own,  stating  that  —  "This  Paper  [No. 
52.]  finishes  one  Year,  since  the  Boston  Weekly  Ad- 
vertiser was  first  printed,  ....  which  is  mention'd 
not  to  cheer  those,  [in  this  publick  Manner,]  who  en- 
couraged the  publishing  it  at  first,  but  to  return  our 
Thanks  to  them ;  and  at  the  same  Time  to  inform 
them.  That  the  good  Reception  it  has  met  with  from  the 
Publick,  is  a  great  Inducement  to  its  Continuance  ;  and 
will  lay  us  under  still  further  obligations,"  &,c. 

At  the  close  of  the  second  year,  the  title  of  this 
paper  was  changed  to  "  Green  &-  Russell's  Post-Boy 
and  Advertiser,"  with  the  devices  of  the  ship  and  Post- 
Boy  ;  and  at  a  subsequent  period  it  was  again  enti- 
tled "  The  Massachusetts  Gazette,  and  Post-Boy  and 
Advertiser."  When  it  took  the  last  title,  a  cut  represent- 
ing the  king's  arms  was  placed  in  the  centre.  Its  circu- 
lation, it  is  said,  was  never  extensive.  The  files  show 
that  it  was  not  distinguished  for  original  essays  or  edito- 
rial speculations.  The  printers  were  appointed  printers 
to  the  British  Commissioners,  and,  of  course,  they  be- 
came the  advocates  of  the  measures  of  the  British  admin- 
istration. In  1768,  it  was  united  with  the  News-Letter, 
and  was  announced  as  "  Published  by  Authority."  *  In 
September,  1769,  the  four-sided  association  of  News- 
Letter,  Advertiser,  Post-Boy,  and  Gazette,  was  dis- 
solved,  and  Green  6&  Russell  continued  to  publish  a 

*  See  page  30. 


208  BOSTON    WEEKLY    ABVERTISER. 

paper,  with  three  of  the  titles,  namely,  "  The  Massa- 
chusetts Gazette,  and  Boston  Post-Boy,  and  Advertiser," 
retaining  the  cut  of  the  king's  arms  at  the  head.  In 
April,  1773,  they  gave  up  the  printing  and  publishing  of 
the  paper  to  Mills  &;  Hicks,  who  continued  it  with  re- 
newed spirit,  under  the  patronage  and  encouragement  of 
the  officers  of  the  crown.  Several  good  writers  in  favor 
of  the  government  became  its  supporters,  and  gave  it 
additional  attraction.  The  publication  was  continued  till 
after  the  beginning  of  the  war  in  1775,  when  it  ceased, 
after  an  existence  of  about  eighteen  years. 

In  the  month  of  December,  1757,  Richard  Draper 
and  Edes  &,  Gill  had  a  dispute  about  the  publishing  of 
an  Almanack,  which  they  carried  on  in  the  Weekly  Ad- 
vertiser, though  both  the  belligerents  were  themselves 
Printers  of  papers.  The  controversy  was  begun  in  the 
Advertiser  by  Draper,  who  accused  Edes  &i  Gill  of  pirat- 
ing the  copy;  and  advertised  the  public,  "That  the  al- 
manacks from  the  original  copy  purchased  of  Dr.  Ames," 
were  sold  by  certain  printers  and  booksellers  whom  he 
named.  He  also  stated  that  in  the  "  pirated  Alma- 
nack, Inferior  Court,  Newbury,  was  omitted"  in  its 
proper  place.  To  this  Edes  &,  Gill  replied,  acquainting 
the  public  "  that  said  Inferior  Court  at  Newbury,  (which 
they  had  since  put  in  its  place,)  was  omitted  in  near  one 
thousand  copies,"  which  they  had  received  of  Draper, 
"  and  said  to  be  printed  from  the  original."  In  their 
turn  they  accuse  Draper  of  selling  to  them  incorrect 
almanacks,  and  then  "  cautioning  the  public  not  to  buy 
copies  printed  from  the  same,  though  exactly  agreea- 
ble." This  produced  a  long  rejoinder  from  Draper,  in 
which,  to  clear  himself  from  the  charge  of  selling  false 


GREEN    AND    RUSSELL.  209 

copies  to  Edes  &l  Gill,  he  charged  them  with  taking,  — 
in  their  impatience  to  get  a  copy,  — an  unfair  method  to 
ohtain  it,  namely,  "  by  means  of  their  book-keeper." 
The  next  week  Edes  &;  Gill  retorted  with  some  tartness, 
and  affirmed  that  they  had  no  book-keeper  ;  and  added 
that  Mr.  Draper  "  might  as  well  claim  the  property  of 
printing  the  Testament,  Psalter,  or  Primer,  as  to  charge 
them  with  piracy."  To  the  bottom  of  their  advertise- 
ment. Green  &  Russell  added  a  note,  hoping  that,  as 
their  readers  were  pretty  well  acquainted  with  the  dis- 
putes between  Mr.  Draper  and  Messrs.  Edes  h  Gill, 
concerning  Dr.  Ames's  almanack,  they  hoped  the  par- 
ties would  foibear  troubling  the  public  any  more  through 
the  Advertiser  with  what  so  little  concerned  them.  This 
did  not,  however,  silence  the  rival  printers  of  the  alma- 
nack. Draper  came  out,  in  the  next  paper,  with  a  longer 
and  more  angry  advertisement,  concluding  with  a  promise 
to  trouble  the  editor  no  further  with  the  dispute.  Edes 
&£  Gill  next  published  nearly  a  column,  ridiculing  their 
antagonist  rather  sharply,  and  criticizing  his  language  as 
ungrammatical,  high-flown,  full  of  blunders,  he.  ;  and 
concluded  by  promising  "  to  pay  him  ten  Spanish  Mexi- 
can milVd  Dollars,'^  if  he  would  produce  any  evidence 
to  prove  his  charge  against  them  of  unfairness  in  obtain- 
ing their  copy  of  the  Almanack.  Draper  made  a  short 
response  in  the  next  paper,  accusing  Edes  h  Gill  of  de- 
ceit, in  garbling  one  of  his  sentences,  and  choosing  "not 
to  claim  their  offered  reward  to  evidence  their  conduct 
to  be  bad."  He  concluded  with  a  quotation  from  Pope, 
describing  those  whom  "  Nature  meant  but  fools :  "  and 
here  the  controversy  ended  in  the  Advertiser. 

John  Green,  one  of  the  printers  of  the  Weekly  Ad- 
IS*  .    '      •■ 


210  BOSTON    WEEKLY    ADVERTISER. 

vertiser,  was  the  son  of  Bartholomew  Green,  jun.  He 
was  born  in  Boston,  and  served  his  apprenticeship  with 
John  Draper.  Joseph  Russell,  the  other  partner  in  the 
finn  of  Green  &;  Russell,  was  also  born  in  Boston.  He 
served  his  apprenticeship  with  Daniel  Fowle.  The 
partnership  was  formed  in  1755.  A  few  years  after- 
ward, Russell  opened  an  auction  office,  the  profits  of 
which  were  shared  by  the  firm.  Green  managed  the 
printing-office,  and  Russell  took  charge  of  the  auction 
room.  By  their  industry  in  the  two  occupations  they 
acquired  a  handsome  property. 

"  Green  became  interested  in  the  Independent  Chron- 
icle published  by  Powars  &t  Willis,  but  his  name  did 
not  appear  in  the  imprint.  He  was  a  man  of  steady 
habits,  true  to  his  engagements  and  well  respected.  He 
died  in  November  1787,  aged  sixty  years.  He  had  no 
children.  He  was,  I  believe,  the  last  of  the  descendants 
of  Samuel  Green  of  Cambridge,  who  printed  in  Mas- 
sachusetts." * 

"  Russell  was  a  good  workman  in  the  printing  busi- 
ness ;  but  his  talents  were  more  particularly  adapted  to 
the  duties  of  an  auctioneer.  He  soon  arrived  at  celeb- 
rity in  this  line,  and  had  more  employment  in  it  than  any 
other  person  in  Boston.  When  his  partnership  with 
Green  was  dissolved,  he  formed  a  connection  with  Sam- 
uel Clap,  and  this  company,  under  the  firm  of  Russell 
&  Clap,  continued  the  business  of  auctioneers,  till  the 
death  of  Russell,"  which  happened  in  November,  1795, 
when  he  was  in  the  sixty-second  year  of  his  age.  "  Rus- 
sell was  full  of  life,  very  facetious  and  witty,  but  atten- 
tive to  his  concerns.  Few  men  had  more  friends,  or 
were  more  esteemed.     He  acquired  considerable  prop- 

*  History  of  Printing,  vol.  i.  348. 


MILLS    AND    HICKS.  211 

erty,  but  did  not  hoard  up  his  wealth,  for  benevolence 
was  one  of  his  virtues."  * 

Nathaniel  Mills  was  born  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Boston,  and  learned  the  art  of  printing  of  John  Fleming. 
He  was  a  sensible,  genteel  young  man,  and  had  the 
principal  charge  of  the  printing  of  the  Gazette  and  Post- 
Boy.  John  Hicks  was  born  in  Cambridge,  and  learned 
his  trade  of  Green  &>  Russell.  Before  entering  into 
partnership  with  Mills,  he  was  supposed  to  be  a  zealous 
Whig.  He  was  reputed  to  have  been  one  of  the  young 
men,  who  had  an  affray  with  some  British  soldiers, 
which  led  to  the  memorable  massacre  of  the  Fifth  of 
March,  1770.  His  father  was  one  of  the  first  men,  who 
fell  on  the  Nineteenth  of  April,  1775; — being  one  of 
the  foremost  to  fly  to  arms,  to  attack  the  detachment  of 
British  troops,  on  their  return  from  Concord  to  Boston. 
Notwithstanding  this  sacrifice  of  his  father  in  the  cause 
of  his  country,  the  younger  Hicks  adhered  to  the  British, 
and  remained  with  the  royal  army,  and  supported  its 
cause  as  a  printer,  till  peace  was  concluded  and  the 
independence  of  the  country  acknowledged  by  Great 
Britain.  He  followed  the  army,  or  went  with  it,  to 
Halifax,  and  having  acquired  wealth,  he  returned  to 
Massachusetts,  purchased  a  farm  at  Newton,  in  the 
county  of  Middlesex,  and  resided  on  it  till  his  death. 

The  partnership  of  Mills  &  Hicksj  was  not  dissolved 
till  1783.  For  a  while  they  kept  a  stationery  store  in 
New- York,  and  executed  printing  for  the  royal  army 
and  navy.  They  were  also  connected  with  Alexander 
and  James  Robertson  in  the  publication  of  the  Royal 
American  Gazette  in  that  city. 

*  Hiatory  of  Printing,  vol.  i.  349. 


THE  BOSTON  CHRONICLE. 


On  the  twenty-first  of  December,  1767,  Mein  & 
Fleming  began  the  publication  of  The  Boston  Chronicle. 
It  was  printed  on  a  whole  sheet,  in  quarto,  on  a  new 
and  handsome  type,  and,  in  its  mechanical  execution, 
far  surpassed  any  paper  that  had  appeared  before  it,  in 
New-England.  The  price  was  six  shillings  and  eight 
pence  a  year,  —  a  very  low  price,  for  a  paper  containing 
such  an  amount  of  matter.  There  were  but  few  adver- 
tisements, and  but  little  space  was  occupied  in  detailing 
the  ordinary  intelligence  of  the  week.  The  contents 
were,  chiefly,  selected  from  foreign  papers,  and  from  the 
works  of  popular  English  authors.  In  the  first  volume 
were  published  essays  of  some  of  the  best  prose  writers, 
Collins's  Oriental  Eclogues,  Shenstone's  Pastorals,  and 
some  of  Goldsmith's  poetry  ;  copious  extracts  from  the 
writings  of  John  Wilkes  ;  and  from  the  Pennsylvania 
papers,  the  celebrated  "Farmer's  Letters."  The  taste 
and  judgement,  exhibited  in  the  management  of  the  pa- 
per, its  handsome  appearance,  and  the  convenience  of 
its  form  for  preservation,  immediately  attracted  the  favor- 
able notice  of  the  public,  and  secured  a  respectable  and 


MEIN    AND    FLEMING.  213 

unexpected  number  of  subscribers.     In  the  third  num- 
ber is  the  following  notice  :  — 

We  arc  sorry  that  we  cannot  serve  the  gentlemen,  who,  during  the 
course  of  the  hist  week,  sent  us  their  subscriptions  for  the  Chronicle, 
with  the  first  and  second  papers ;  although  we  printed  near  thi-ee  hun- 
dred more  than  were  engaged  of  the  first  number,  they  were  all  disposed 
of  in  a  few  days.  We  have  printed  an  additional  quantity  of  this  paper, 
number  three,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year,  our  subscribers  who  have  been 
disappointed,  may  depend  on  being  supplied  with  the  two  first  papers, 
as  we  shall  then  reprint  them. 

At  the  close  of  the  year,  in  an  advertisement,  pro- 
posing to  enlarge  the  Chronicle,  and  introduce  sundry 
changes  in  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  the  matter, 
the  publishers  say,  — 

We  have  been  blamed  by  some,  for  not  publishing  their  essays  on 
Liberty ;  and  also  by  many,  who  have  sent  us  pieces  in  support  of  pre- 
rogative: The  reason  they  were  not  inserted,  was,  that  they  tended 
more  to  traduce  private  characters  than  to  serve  the  cause,  which  the 
Authors  wrote  in  favor  of.  We  will  always,  when  any  dispute  claims 
general  attention,  give  both  sides  of  the  question,  if  they  can  be  obtained : 
But  will  never  print  any  piece  that  may  injure  the  characters  of  indi- 
viduals ;  this  we  can  with  justice  say,  we  have  always  avoided,  and 
shall  continue  to  do  so. 

The  form  of  the  Chronicle  was  then  changed  to  folio. 
It  had  been  published  weekly  on  Monday,  during  its 
first  year  ;  it  was  now  published  on  Mondays  and  Thurs- 
days, and  was  the  first  paper  published  twice  a  week  in 
New-England.  "  Before  the  close  of  the  second  year 
of  publication,  its  publisher,  Mein,  engaged  in  a  political 
warfare  with  those,  who  were  in  opposition  to  the  meas- 
ures of  the  British  administration.  In  the  Chronicle,  he 
abused  numbers  of  the  most  respectable  Whigs  in  Bos- 
ton, and  he  was  charged  with  insulting  the  populace. 
To  avoid  the  effects  of  popular  resentment,  it  became 
necessary  for  him  to  leave  the  country.     Fleming  con- 


214  BOSTON    CHRONICLE. 

tinned  the  Chronicle,  during  the  absence  of  Mein,  in  the 
name  of  the  firm  ;  but  it  had  fallen  into  disrepute,  and 
its  subscribers,  in  rapid  succession,  withdrew  their  names. 
Many  supposed  that  Mein  was  privately  assisted  by  the 
agents  of  government,  and  several  circumstances  ren- 
dered this  opinion  probable.  But  when  the  paper  lost 
its  subscribers,  it  could  neither  be  profitable  to  its  pub- 
lishers, nor  answer  the  design  of  its  supporters.  Its 
publication,  therefore,  ceased  on  the  25th  of  June, 
1770."*  On  this  occasion,  the  subscribers  and  the 
public  were  thus  addressed :  — 

*iff*  The  Printers  of  the  Boston  Cln-onicle  return  thanks  to  the  gen- 
tlemen, who  haAC  so  long  favored  them  with  their  subscriptions,  and 
now  inform  them  that,  as  the  Chronicle,  in  the  present  state  of  atfairs, 
cannot  be  carried  on,  either  for  their  entertainment  or  the  emolument  of 
the  Printers,  it  will  be  discontinued  for  some  time. 

John  Mein,  the  senior  partner  in  the  firm  of  Mein  &; 
Fleming,  was  born  in  Scotland,  where  he  received  a 
good  education,  and  was  bred  to  the  business  of  a  book- 
seller. He  came  to  Boston  from  Glasgow,  in  1764,  in 
company  with  Robert  Sandeman,  f  —  a  kinsman  of  whom 
was,  for  a  short  time,  in  partnership  with  Mein,  in  the 
bookselling  business.  When  this  partnership  was  dis- 
solved, Mein  entered  more  largely  into  business  as  a 
bookseller,  and  connected  with  it  a  circulating  library. 
His  advertisements  frequently  occupy  near  a  page  in  the 
Chronicle.  When  he  left  the  country  for  England,  he 
engaged  as  a  writer  against  the  Colonies,  and  in  the  pay 
of  the  ministry.     It  is  not  known  that  he  ever  returned. 

*  History  of  rrinting:,  vol  ii.  247. 

f'I'his  Robert  Sandemnn  was  a  theological  and  controversial  writer  of  consid- 
erahle  notoriety.  lie  was  the  founder  of  a  religious  sect,  Isnown  by  tlie  name  of 
Sandemanians,  which  was,  atone  time,  respectably  numerous  in  Boston,  and  yet 
survives  in  two  or  three  highly  respectable  families. 


MEIN    AND    FLEMING.  215 

Perhaps  no  man  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  Whigs 
to  a  greater  degree  than  John  Mein.  On  the  fifth  of 
November,  1769,  as  was  customary  then  in  New-Eng- 
land, many  persons  amused  themselves  and  the  public 
by  carrying,  through  the  streets,  effigies,  representing  the 
Pope  and  the  Devil ;  and,  on  this  occasion,  these  effigies 
were  accompanied  by  others,  representing  Mein  and  his 
servant.  On  the  right  side  of  Mein  was  a  label,  bear- 
ing the  following  inscription  :  — 

I  nsulting  Wretch,  we  '11  him  expose  — 

0  'er  the  whole  world  his  deeds  disclose ; 
H  ell  now  gapes  wide  to  take  him  in  ; 

N  ow  he  is  ripe  —  0  lump  of  Sin ! 

M  ean  is  the  man  —  M — n  is  his  name ; 

E  nough  he  's  spread  his  hellish  fame  ; 

1  nfernal  furies  hurl  his  soul, 

N  inc  million  times,  from  pole  to  pole  ! 

Labels  on  the  left  side,  were  of  a  similar  character, 

and  addressed   to  Tories  in  general.     On  the  lantern, 

that  illuminated  the  group,  was  the  following  :  — 

Here  stands  the  Devil  for  a  show. 

With  the  In — p — rs,  in  a  row. 

All  bound  to  Hell,  and  that  we  know. 

Go  M — n,  laden  deep  with  curses  on  thy  head, 

To  some  dark  corner  of  the  world  repair, 
Where  the  bright  sun  no  pleasant  beams  can  shed. 

And  spend  thy  life  in  horror  and  despair. 

John  Fleming,  the  other  partner  in  the  firm  of  Mein 
&  Fleming,  was  also  a  Scotchman,  and  arrived  in  Bos- 
ton, also,  in  1764.  He  was  bred  a  printer.  After 
forming  a  connection  with  Mein,  he  made  a  voyage  to 
Scotland,  where  he  purchased  materials  and  engaged 
workmen  for  executing  printing  on  a  scale  rather  exten- 
sive for  that  period.  Fleming  had  not  rendered  himself 
so  obnoxious  to  popular  resentment,  as  his  partner  had. 


216  BOSTON    CHRONICLE. 

and,  after  the  discontinuance  of  the  Chronicle,  he  print- 
ed books  on  his  own  account,  and  continued  in  Boston 
till  1773,  when  he  sold  his  printing  materials,  and  went 
to  England  with  his  family.  At  a  later  period,  he  visit- 
ed this  country  as  an  agent  for  a  commercial  house. 
Afterwards  he  resided  in  France  and  died  there,  since 
the  year  1800. 


THE  ESSEX  GAZETTE. 


In  1768,  on  the  second  of  August,  Samuel  Hall  is- 
sued, in  Salem,  the  first  number  of  a  paper,  called  The 
Essex  Gazette.  The  head  was  decorated  with  the  cut 
here  given,  but  I  find  no  explanation  of  the  device. 
This  was  the  first  newspaper  printed  in  Salem.  After 
publishing  the  paper  three  or  four  years,  Hall  took  his 
brother,  Ebenezer,  into  partnership,  and  the  paper  was 
published  by  them  in  Salem,  till  1775.  It  was  well  con- 
ducted, and  ably  supported  the  cause  of  the  people 
against  the  unjust  measures  of  the  British  Parliament. 

In  the  second  number  of  the  Gazette  there  is  a  piece, 
addressed  to  the  Inhabitants  of  Salem,  purporting  to  be 
written  by  a  female,  who  "  was  married  to  an  amazing 
great  whig  ;  "  and  this  husband  of  hers,  she  says,  "  since 
these  Liberty  times  began,  has  been  so  excessive  fond  of 

VOL.    I.  19 


218  THE    ESSEX    GAZETTE. 

his  new  mistress,  Liberty,  that  he  will  not  let  any  body 
under  his  roof  enjoy  one  spice  of  it ;  no,  not  even  in 
thinking,  much  less  in  speaking."  The  writer,  —  of 
course,  a  decided  Tory,  —  called  on  her  fellow-citizens  to 
keep  quiet  and  peaceable,  and  submit  to  lawful  author- 
ity, to  avoid  all  exciting  company,  and  all  conversation, 
that  should  lead  to  jealousy  and  suspicion,"  &c.  &,c. 
This  was  answered  in  the  next  paper,  in  a  severe  but 
sober  manner.  At  the  head  of  the  communication  is  a 
note  by  the  Editor,  saying,  —  "  Any  disputes  among  us, 
especially  at  this  time,  must  be  attended  with  conse- 
quences prejudicial  to  the  community ;  and  it  is  disa- 
greeable to  the  Printer  hereof  to  continue  them  in  this 
paper ;  but,  as  a  Lover  of  Peace  has  begun  them, 
thinking,  no  doubt,  that  these  differences  will  be  happier 
and  more  speedily  terminated,  by  means  of  each  party's 
publishing  their  sentiments,  no  one,  it  is  presumed,  will 
object  to  both  parties  being  heard." 

The  contributions  to  the  Gazette,  by  whig  writers, 
were  numerous,  and  some  of  them  were  written  with 
great  force.  The  Editor  made  judicious  selections  from 
the  writings  of  Whigs  in  other  papers,  and  his  own  para- 
graphs were  the  exponents  of  pure  whig  sentiments. 
But  his  paper  was  not  devoted  entirely  to  news  and 
politics.  Wit  and  humor,  morals  and  religion,  had  a 
place  in  his  columns.  The  annexed  article  was  sent  by 
a  correspondent,  with  a  request  that  it  should  be  inserted, 
but  whether  it  were  original  or  not  the  contributor  does 
not  say  :  — 

The  Life  of  the  Happy  Man. 

The  happy  man  was  born  in  the  city  of  Regeneration,  in  the  parish  of 
Repentance-unto-Life.     He  was  educated  in  the  School  of  Obedience,  and 


SAMUEL  AND  EBENEZER  HALL.         219 

lives  now  in  Perseverance.  He  works  at  the  trade  of  Diligence^  notwith- 
standing Ixe  has  a  large  estate  in  the  county  of  Christian  Contentmerd; 
and,  many  times,  does  jobs  of  Self-Denial.  He  wears  the  plain  garment 
of  llumiliti/,  and  has  a  better  suit  to  put  on,  when  he  goes  to  Com-t, 
called  the  Robe  of  Christ''s  Righteousness.  He  often  walks  in  the  valley 
of  Self- Abasement,  and  sometimes  climbs  the  mountain  of  Spiritual- 
AFindedness.  He  breakfasts  every  morning  upon  Spiritual-Prayer,  and 
sups  every  evening  on  the  same ;  has  meat  to  eat,  that  the  world  knows 
notliing  of,  and  his  drink  is  the  sincere  Milk  of  the  Word.  Thus  happy 
he  lives  and  happy  he  dies. 

Happy  is  he,  who  has  the  Gospel  submission  in  his  will,  due  order  in 
his  affections,  sound  peace  in  his  conscience,  sanctifying  grace  in  his 
soul,  and  divinity  in  his  breast,  true  humility  in  his  heart,  the  Redeem- 
er's yoke  on  Iiis  neck,  a  vain  world  under  his  feet,  and  a  crown  of  glory 
over  his  head.  Happy  is  the  life  of  such  a  one !  In  order  to  attain 
which,  prag  fervently,  believe  firmly,  wait  patiently,  work  abundantly, 
live  holy,  die  daily,  watch  your  heart,  guide  your  senses,  redeem  time, 
love  Christ,  and  long  for  glory. 

The  following,  from  a  Marblehead  correspondent,  is  of 

a  different  character,  but  not  without  a  moral :  — 

The  Naked  Truth. 

"Were  Fortune  more  civil,  and  business  more  brisk. 

My  Horse  not  so  frantic,  or  subject  to  frisk. 

Should  I  chance  to  set  eye  on  a  pretty  young  Lass, 

Not  too  fond  of  dear  self,  nor  too  oft  at  her  glass  ; 

Not  a  foe  to  good-humor,  diversion  and  glee, 

Not  a  slave  to  her  pleasures,  regardless  of  me ; 

In  deportment  so  easy ;  her  bosom,  beside, 

The  mansion  of  goodness,  unsullied  by  pride ; 

A  lover  of  neatness  ;  to  virtue  inclined ; 

Of  a  sweet  disposition,  and  generous  mind ; 

A  friend  of  the  Muses,  yet  no  learned  thing, 

Or  a  wit,  to  provoke  me,  and  killingly  sting ; 

But  so  friendly  and  social,  so  warm  and  so  gay, 

As  to  cheer  up  my  heart,  and  enliven  each  day ; 

Could  I  find  such  a  fair  one,  though  Hobby  should  prance, 

And  kick  up  his  licels,  or  commence  a  new  dance  ; 

With  wliip,  bit,  and  spur,  I'd  incessantly  trouble. 

Till  Hob.  should  leave  flouncing,  and  carry  us  double; 

Once  mounted,  a  fig  for  all  care  and  all  sorrow, 

We'd  be  happy  to-day,  and  as  happy  to-morrow : 


220  NEW-ENGLAND    CHRONICLE. 

Should  Hobby's  dear  bni'then  too  ponderous  grow, 
ICind  Prudence  would  teach  us  the  means  how  to  go ; 
Should  Fortune  prove  trickish  and  tumble  us  o'er, 
Ten  thousand,  Dear  Gal,  have  been  served  so  before. 
Take  Courage,  my  Chai-mcr,  we'd  mount  him  again ; 
Bide  slowly  the  mountain,  but  gallop  the  plain ; 
Teetit-up,  teetit-up.  we'd  tilt  it  along, 
And  cheer  up  our  souls  with  a  glass  and  a  song. 
What  matters  it,  Sweeting,  if  others  ride  single, 
With  horses  more  sprightly,  and  purses  that  jingle, — 
At  night,  I  am  sure,  at  the  Inn  nigh  the  Vale, 
Though  driven  by  storms,  or  a  sweet  pleasant  gale, 
We  shall  still  be  so-so,  not  a  stiver  in  pocket, 
Like  a  taper  burnt  out,  or  a  snufF  in  the  socket. 

In  the  summer  of  1775,  by  the  advice  of  many  mem- 
bers of  the  General  Court,  and  other  respectable  gentle- 
men of  the  Whig  party,  the  proprietors  of  the  Gazette 
removed  from  Salem,  to  Cambridge,  with  their  printing 
apparatus,    and  continued   the    publication,    under    the 

title  of 

THE  NEW-ENGLANT)  CHROKICLE, 

OR 

THE  WEEia.Y  GAZETTE. 
The  printing-office  was  in  Stoughton  Hall.  The  first 
number  of  the  paper  printed  in  Cambridge,  was  issued 
on  the  tenth  of  August.  It  contained  essays  from  Lon- 
don papers,  a  patriotic  article  from  the  Connecticut 
Courant,  interesting  articles  of  intelligence,  and  more 
than  a  page  of  advertisements,  —  chiefly  from  Boston 
customers.  It  had  also  an  interesting  Letter  from  Gen- 
eral Washington  to  certain  independent  military  compa- 
nies in  Virginia.*  Subsequent  papers  contain  full  ac- 
counts of  the  proceedings  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
then  sitting  at  Philadelphia,  and  of  patriotic  assemblies 
in  several  of  the  colonies.  A  review  of  General  Bur- 
goyne's  Defence  of  his  treatment  of  General  Lee,  signed 

*  See  Sparks's  Washington,  vol.  iii.  p.  4. 


SAJIUEL    AND    EBENEZER    HALL.  221 

"  An  Old  Man,"  and  dated  "  From  my  Cottage  near 
Boston,"  which  appeared  in  the  Gazette,  is  an  argument, 
that  would  not  discredit  the  best  political  writer  of  that 
or  any  other  age ;  and  it  was  doubtless  written  by  one 
of  that  glorious  company  of  Whigs,  that  had  filled  the 
Boston  Gazette  with  their  patriotic  essays.  From  the 
number  and  character  of  the  articles  concerning  the 
condition  of  the  Colonies,  and  the  relations  between 
them  and  the  "  mother  country,"  it  cannot  be  doubted 
that  this  paper  had  a  powerful  influence  in  awakening 
and  sustaining  among  the  people  the  spirit  of  resistance 
to  the  parliamentary  edicts.  Many  of  these  produc- 
tions, —  enough  to  fill  several  volumes,  —  are  worthy  of 
republication,  and  ought  to  be  preserved  in  a  more  con- 
venient and  enduring  form  than  that,  in  which  they  are 
now  to  be  found. 

The  following  verses,  suggested  by  the  Battle  of 
Bunker-Hill  and  the  burning  of  Charlestown,  appeared 
in  one  of  the  early  numbers  of  the  Chronicle.  They 
have  not  quite  so  much  poetry  as  patriotism  ;  but  will 
serve  to  illustrate  the  prevalent  feelings  of  the  people,  in 
that  painful  day  of  gloom  and  apprehension  :  — 

Palmyra's  prospect,  with  her  tumbling  walls, 

Huge  piles  of  ruin,  heaped  on  every  side, 
From  each  beholder  tears  of  pity  calls,  — 

Sad  monuments,  extending  far  and  wide :  — 

Yet  far  more  dismal  to  the  Patriot's  eye 

The  dear  remains  of  Charlestown's  former  brow, 

Behind  whose  walls  did  hundred  wamors  die. 
And  Britain's  centre  felt  the  fatal  blow. 

To  see  a  town  so  elegantly  formed, 

Such  buildings,  graced  with  every  curious  art, 

Spoiled  in  a  moment,  on  a  sudden  stormed, 
Must  fill  with  indignation  every  heart. 
19* 


222  NEW-ENGLAND    CHRONICLE. 

But  when  we  find  the  reasons  of  her  fate 

To  be  but  trifling  —  Trifling,  did  I  say? 
For  being  noble,  daring  to  be  great, 

Nor  calmly  jnclding  to  tyrannic  sway :  — 
To  see  the  relics  of  that  once  famed  place, 

Pointing  to  Heaven,  as  'twere,  in  ardent  cry, 
By  lawless  Power  robbed  of  every  grace, 

Yet  calling  bolts  of  vengeance  from  on  high :  — 
To  find,  I  say,  such  dealings  ^vith  mankind, 

To  see  those  Royal  liMers  planted  near, 
More  glorious  buildings  turning  into  wind, 

And  loth  to  mingle  with  the  common  air ;  — 
Whilst  such  chastisements,  coming  from  a  state, 

Wlio  calls  herself  our  parent,  nurse  and  friend. 
Must  rouse  each  soid,  that 's  noble,  frank  and  great,  — 

Must  urge  us  on,  our  lives  and  all  to  spend. 
O  spot,  once  graceful,  but,  alas !  no  more ; 

Till  signs  shall  end,  and  Time  itself  shall  cease ; 
Thy  name  shall  Uvc,  and  on  Fame's  pinion  soar. 

To  mark  grim  blackness  on  Great-Britain's  face. 
Nor  shall  the  blood  of  heroes,  on  the  plain. 

Who  nobly  fell  that  day  in  Freedom's  cause. 
Lie  unrevenged,  though  with  thy  thousands  slain, 

Whilst  there's  a  king,  who  fears  nor  minds  thy  laws. 
Shall  Cain,  who  madly  spilt  his  brother's  blood, 

Receive  such  curses  from  the  God  of  all  ? 
Is  not  that  Sovereign  still  as  just  and  good. 

To  hear  the  cries  of  children,  when  they  fall  ? 
Yes !  there's  a  God,  whose  laws  are  still  the  same, 

Wliose  years  are  endless,  and  whose  power  is  great : 
He  is  our  God  ;  Jehovah  is  his  name. 

With  him  we  trust  our  sore  oppressed  state. 
When  he  shall  rise,  (0  Britain,  dread  the  day, 

Nor  can  I  stretch  the  period  of  thy  fate ; ) 
What  heart  of  steel,  what  tjTant  there  shall  sway 

A  throne,  that's  sinking  by  oppression's  weight ! 
Thy  crimes,  0  North !  shall  then  like  spectres  stand. 

Nor  Charlesto^vn  hindmost  in  the  ghostly  roll. 
And  faithless  Gage,  who  gave  the  dread  command, 

Shall  find  due  torments  gnaw  upon  his  soul. 


SAMUEL  AND  EBENEZER  HALL.         223 

Yea,  in  this  world,  wo  trust  those  ills  so  dread, 
Which  fill  the  nation  with  such  matchless  woes, 

Shall  fall  with  double  vengeance  on  thy  head. 
Nor  'scape  those  minions  which  thy  court  compose. 

The  Chronicle  of  February  22,  1776,  announced  the 
death  of  Ebenezer  Hall,  in  the  twenty-seventh  year  of 
his  age,  and  states  that  he  survived  his  wife  only  six 
weeks.  He  was  taught  the  printing  business  by  his 
brother,  Samuel.  He  was  a  good  printer,  a  man  of  amia- 
ble disposition,  agreeable  manners,  and  correct  princi- 
ples. The  same  paper  makes  an  apology  for  the  omis- 
sion of  one  week's  publication,  as  the  other  partner  had 
been  seized  with  a  violent  sickness,  just  after  his  brother's 
illness  commenced. 

Immediately  after  the  publication  of  April  4,  the 
printing  materials  were  removed  to  Boston,  and  placed 
in  a  building  in  School-street,  next  door  to  the  "  Oliver 
Cromwell  Tavern."  The  last  number  printed  at  Cam- 
bridge contained  a  copy  of  the  diploma,  which  the  Cor- 
poration of  Harvard  College  had,  on  the  day  preceding, 
given  to  General  Washington.  It  is  an  interesting  doc- 
ument, printed  both  in  Latin  and  English  —  the  English 
version  here  follows  :  — 

The  Corporation  of  HARVAED  COLLEGE  in  Cambridge,  in  New- 
England,  to  all  the  Faithful  in  Christ,  to  whom  these  Presents  shall 
come, 

GREETING, 

Whereas  Academical  Degrees  were  originally  instituted  for  this  Pur- 
pose, That  men  eminent  for  Ivnowledge,  Wisdom,  and  Virtue,  who 
have  highly  merited  of  the  Republic  of  Letters  and  of  the  Common- 
Wealth,  should  be  rewarded  with  the  Honors  of  these  Laurels ;  there  is 
the  greatest  Propriety  in  conferring  such  Honor  on  that  very  illustrious 
Gentleman,  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  Esq.;  the  accomplished 
General  of  the  confederated  Colonies  in  America,  whose  Knowledge 


224  NEW-ENGLAND    CHRONICLE. 

and  patriotic  Ardor  are  manifest  to  all :  "Who,  for  his  distinguished 
Virtue,  both  Civil  and  Militaiy,  in  the  first  Place,  being  elected  by  the 
Suffrages  of  the  Virginians,  one  of  their  Delegates,  exerted  himself 
with  Fidelity  and  singular  AVisdom  in  the  celebrated  Congress  of  Amer- 
ica, for  the  Defence  of  Liberty,  -Nvhcn  in  the  utmost  Danger  of  being 
for  ever  lost,  and  for  the  Salvation  of  his  Country ;  and  then,  at  the 
earnest  Bequest  of  that  Grand  Council  of  Patriots,  without  Hesitation, 
left  all  the  Pleasures  of  his  delightful  Seat  in  Virginia,  and  the  Affairs 
of  liis  own  Estate,  that  through  all  the  Fatigues  and  Dangers  of  a 
Camp,  without  accepting  any  Reward,  he  might  deliver  New-England 
from  the  unjust  and  cruel  Arms  of  Britain,  and  defend  the  other  Col- 
onies ;  and  who,  by  the  most  signal  Smiles  of  Divine  Providence  on 
his  Military  Operations,  drove  tiie  Fleet  and  Troops  of  the  Enemy  with 
disgraceful  Precipitation  from  the  To^vn  of  Boston,  wliich,  for  Eleven 
Months  had  been  shut  up,  fortified  and  defended  by  a  Garrison  of  above 
Seven  Thousand  Regulars;  So  that  the  Inhabitants,  who  suffered  a 
great  variety  of  Hardships  and  Cruelties  while  under  the  Power  of  the 
Oppressors,  now  rejoice  in  their  Deliverance,  and  the  neighboring 
Towns  are  freed  from  the  Tumult  of  Arms,  and  our  University  has  the 
agreeable  Prospect  of  being  restored  to  its  antient  Seat. 

ICnow  ye  tlierefore,  that  We,  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard 
College  in  Cambridge,  (with  the  Consent  of  the  Honored  and  Reverend 
Overseers  of  our  Academy)  have  constituted  and  created  the  aforesaid 
Gentleman,  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  who  merits  the  highest 
Honor,  Doctor  of  Laws,  the  Law  of  Nature  and  Nations,  and  the 
Civil  Law;  and  have  given  and  granted  unto  him  at  the  same  Time  all 
Rights,  Privileges,  and  Honors  to  the  said  Degi-ee  pertaining. 

In  Testimony  whereof,  "We  have  affixed  the  Seal  of  our  University 
to  these  Letters,  and  subscribed  with  our  Hand  writing  this  Third  Day 
of  April  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord  One  Thousand  Seven  Hundred  and 
Seventy-six. 

SA5IUEL  LANGDON,  S.  T.  D.  Praeses. 

NATHANAEL  APPLETON,  S.  T.  D.  1 

JOILVNNES  WINTHROP,  Math,  et  Phil.  P.        I 

Hoi.  LL.  D.  I 
ANDREAS  ELIOT,  S.  T.  D.  V  Socii. 

SAMUEL  COOPER,  S.  T.  D. 
JOHANNES  WADSWORTH,Log.etEth.Pre. 

Thesaurarius. 

The  removal  to  Boston  occasioned  a  suspension  of  the 
Chronicle  for  two  weeks.  It  appeared  then  without  its 
second  title.     When  he  had  published  seven  numbers  in 


SAMUEL    HALL.  225 

Boston,  Hall  sold  the  whole  concern  to  Edward  Eveleth 
Powars  and  Nathaniel  Willis.  He  took  leave  of  the 
public  in  a  short  and  respectful  note,  presenting  "  his 
thanks  to  all,  who  had  fav^ored  him  with  their  custom, 
and  thereby  enabled  him  to  continue  the  publication  of 
his  paper." 

Not  long  after  this  disposition  of  his  property.  Hall 
returned  to  Salem,  where  in  October,  1781,  he  began 
the  publication  of  a  new  paper,  called 

THE  SALEM  GAZETTE.* 

This  publication  he  continued  till  near  the  end  of  the 
year  1785,  when  he  again  removed  to  Boston.  The 
reasons  for  this  removal  are  given  in  the  Gazette  of 
November  15,  with  the  frankness  and  modesty,  which 
were  well-known  traits  in  the  character  of  Samuel  Hall. 
"  The  printer  hereof  (he  said)  has  found,  by  a  careful 
examination,  that  the  tax  upon  newspaper  advertise- 
ments has,  in  conjunction  with  the  decline  of  trade,  op- 
erated so  injuriously  as  to  deprive  him  of  nearly  three 
quarters  of  that  branch  of  his  business;  and  he  con- 
ceives it  to  be  his  duty  not  to  suffer  so  great  a  diminu- 
tion in  his  living,  without,  at  least,  attempting  to  repair 
it.  For  this  purpose  he  has  consulted  such,  in  whose 
friendship  he  can  fully  confide,  and  they  have  unani- 
mously advised  his  removal  to  Boston."  He  further 
stated  that  he  felt  impelled  to  this  step,  with  a  view  of 
extending  his  business,  and  of  avoiding  the  extraordinary 

*This  was  the  second  paper  printed  in  Salem,  with  ttie  title  of  Salem  Gazette. 
Wary  Cmuch,  the  widow  of  Samuel  Crouch,  who  had  printed  a  paper  in  Charles- 
ton, P.  C.  removed  from  that  place  to  Salem,  in  17SU,  with  the  press  and  types 
thai  had  belonged  to  her  hushand,  and,  in  January  1781,  issued  the  first  number 
of  the  Salem  Gazette  and  General  Advertiser.  Thirty-four  numbers  only  wera 
published. 


226  SALEM    GAZETTE. 

expense  attending  the  carrying  it  on  in  Salem,  —  alluding 
to  the  difficulty  of  procuring  the  latest  news,  and  of  dis- 
tributing his  paper  when  it  was  printed.  "  No  reasona- 
ble person  (he  added)  who  has  a  tolerable  acquaintance 
with  the  business,  and  wishes  that  it  might  not  be  crushed, 
can  desire  that,  in  addition  to  this,  it  should  be  burthened 
with  a  heavy  governmental  tax."  "  He  proposes  to 
publish  his  first  paper  in  Boston  on  Monday,  the  28th 
inst."  "  His  good  friends  and  customers  in  this  town 
[Salem]  are  requested  to  consider  this  step  as  dictated 
by  what  he  conceives  to  be  a  just  regard  to  his  interest, 
and  in  compliance  with  the  unanimous  advice  of  his 
nearest  connections.  He  will  always  endeavor,  in  his 
publications,  as  opportunity  presents,  to  promote  the  in- 
terest and  reputation  of  the  town  of  Salem,  to  which  he 
shall  ever  consider  himself  as  under  very  great  obliga- 
tions." 

The  act  laying  a  duty  on  advertisements,  went  into 
operation  on  the  second  of  August,  preceding.  In  the 
Gazette  of  that  day,  Hall  announced  the  fact,  and  ad- 
ded, —  "  No  printer  can  now  advertise,  even  in  his  oivii 
paper,  any  books  or  pieces  of  piety  or  devotion,  not  ex- 
cepting the  Holy  Bible,  without  paying  a  heavy  tax 
for  it.  How  this  accords  with  His  Excellency's  late 
'  Proclamation  for  the  encouragement  of  Piety,  Virtue^ 
Education,  and  Manners,^  let  the  framers  of  the  act  de- 
termine." "  Were  it  not  for  the  tax  upon  advertising 
good  hoolcs,  the  Printer  hereof  would  inform  the  Public, 
that  he  has  just  published  '  Extracts  from  Dr.  Priest- 
ley's Catechism,'  which  he  sells  at  five  coppers  single, 
and  two  shillings  the  dozen."  About  a  fortnight  after, 
the  following  communication  appeared  :  — 


SAMUEL    HALL.  227 

To  the  Printer  of  the  Salem  Ga~(tte. 
I  hear  that  you  have  for  sale  Dr.  Watts's  Imitation  of  the  Psahns  of 
David,  corrected  and  enlarged,  with  a  Collection  of  Hymns,  in  one  vol- 
ume ;  —  that  the  Psalms,  locally  appropriated  in  the  Doctor's  version, 
have  been  altered  by  Mr.  Joel  Barlow,  of  Hartford,  and  the  whole  ap- 
plied to  the  state  of  the  Christian  Church  in  general ;  —  and  that,  by  a 
Law,  lately  passed,  which,  like  the  Stamp  Act,  is  of  extraction  truly 
British,  you  are  restrained  from  advertising  them,  unless  you  pay  a 
heavy  tax  for  it.  As  several  of  my  neighbors,  as  well  as  myself,  are  iu 
want  of  this  valuable  book,  I  hope  you  will  not  fail  of  supplying  us. 

J.  R. 

Agreeably  to    his   notice,  on   Monday,  the   28th  of 
November,    Hall    sent   out,    from    his   printing-office   in 
Boston  the  first  of  his  praposed  paper,  under  the  title  of 
THE   MASSACHUSETTS   GAZETTE, 

which  he  conducted  alone,  till  June,  1787,  when  he 
took,  as  a  partner,  J.  Wincoll  Allen,  a  young  man  who 
had  been  some  time  employed  in  the  office.  In  Sep- 
tember following,  he  sold  out  his  right  in  the  paper  to 
Allen,*  and  confined  himself  to  the  printing  and  sale  of 
small  books,  blanks,  pamphlets,  &c.  at  a  store  which  he 
had  rented  in  State-street,  on  the  north  side  of  the  state- 
house.  At  a  later  period,  he  opened  a  book  and  sta- 
tionery store,  at  No.  53,  Cornhill.  In  1789,  he  printed 
a  newspaper  in  the  French  language,  for  Joseph  Nan- 
crede,  a  French  emigrant,  who  kept  a  bookstore  in 
Marlboro'-street,  nearly  opposite  the  site  of  the  Marlboro' 
hotel,  and  received  pupils  for  instruction  in  French. 
This  paper  was  given  up  at  the  end  of  six  months.  Mr. 
Hall  carried  on,  —  extensively  for  those  days,  —  the 
printing  and  publishing  of  small  books,  embellished  with 
cuts,  and  published  some  octavo  and  duodecimo  volumes. 

*The  paper  was,  probahly,  discontinued  soon  after  it  went  into  Alluri's  posses- 
sion.   Only  a  few  numbers,  with  Allen's  imprint,  are  to  be  found. 


228  SAMUEL    HALL. 

He  had  almost  the  whole  sale  of  blanks  for  legal  instru- 
ments, for  the  county  of  Suffolk  and  Middlesex,  and, 
for  several  years  had  the  printing  of  all  the  blanks  used 
in  the  custom  house  in  Boston.  In  1805,  he  sold  his 
whole  establishment,  —  printing  materials,  books,  blanks, 
&c.  —  to  Lincoln  &  Edmands,  and  retired  from  business. 
Samuel  Hall  was  born  in  Medford,  Massachusetts, 
and  served  an  apprenticeship  with  an  uncle,  Daniel 
Fowle,  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
one,  he  went  into  partnership  with  Ann  Franklin,  the 
widow  of  James  Franklin,  at  Newport,  R.  I.  In  1768, 
he  left  Newport,  and  opened  a  printing-office  in  Salem, 
—  as  has  been  already  stated.  He  died  on  the  tenth  of 
October,  1807,  aged  sixty-seven  years.  He  was  re- 
spected by  every  one  who  knew  him,  as  a  just,  an  up- 
right, and  a  religious  man.  He  was  an  excellent  printer, 
as  many  of  his  publications,  still  extant,  abundantly  tes- 
tify. The  country  had  no  firmer  friend,  in  the  gloomiest 
period  of  its  history,  as  well  as  in  the  days  of  its  young 
and  increasing  prosperity,  than  Samuel  Hall. 

The  sweet  remcmLrance  of  the  just 
Shall  flourish  when  he  sleeps  in  dust. 


THE  MASSACHUSETTS  SPY. 


Isaiah  Thomas,  the  original  projector,  one  of  the 
original  proprietors,  and  afterwards,  for  many  years,  the 
sole  owner  of  the  Massachusetts  Spy,  was  born  in  Bos- 
ton, on  the  nineteenth  of  January,  1749.  His  ances- 
tors, who  were  of  good  repute,  emigrated  from  England, 
and  settled  near  Boston,  soon  after  the  foundation  of  the 
town.  His  father,  Moses  Thomas,  was  soldier,  mariner, 
trader,  and  farmer,  at  different  periods.  After  losing,  by  a 
series  of  unfortunate  circumstances,  a  generous  patrimony, 
he  died  in  North  Carolina,  about  the  year  1752,  leaving 
in  Boston  a  widow  in  a  destitute  condition,  with  five 
children.  Isaiah  was  the  youngest  of  these,  and  when 
six  years  old,  was  apprenticed  to  Zechariah  Fowle,  —  a 
printer  of  pamphlets,  ballads,  tracts,  hand-bills,  &,c. 
He  was  employed  in  setting  types,  for  which  purpose 
he  was  placed  on  a  bench  eighteen  inches  high,  and 
extending  the  whole  length  of  a  double  frame,  which 
contained  cases  of  Roman  and  Italic  letter.  His  first 
essay  with  the  composing  stick  was  on  a  ballad,  entitled 
"  The  Lawyer's  Pedigree ; "  the  types  were  of  the  size 
called  Double  Pica. 
20 


230  ISAIAH    THOMAS. 

Thomas  remained  with  Fowle  eleven  years,  when 
they  disagreed  and  separated.  He  went  directly  to 
Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  intending  to  go  thence  to  Eng- 
land, for  the  purpose  of  improvement  in  his  profession. 
This  intention  was  defeated  by  want  of  means  to  defray 
expenses.  He  remained  in  Halifax  seven  months,  in 
the  office  of  the  Halifax  Gazette.  The  printer  of  this 
paper,  whose  name  was  Henry,  was  not  a  very  skilful 
mechanic.  He  is  represented  as  being  indolent  and 
inattentive  to  his  business.  From  this  man  Thomas 
accepted  an  offer  of  board  for  his  services,  and  the  sole 
management  of  the  Gazette  devolved  upon  him.  While 
he  was  thus  employed,  certain  paragraphs  appeared  in 
the  Gazette,  which  gave  offence  to  the  government  of 
the  province.  Henry  was  admonished,  and  threatened 
with  a  prosecution,  but  was  let  off  with  an  apology. 
An  effigy  of  the  stamp-master  was  exhibited,  and  some 
other  proceedings  took  place,  which  were  called  sedi- 
tious, in  which,  it  was  supposed  Thomas  had  some 
agency.  An  attempt  was  made  to  intimidate  him,  but 
it  proved  unsuccessful.  He,  however,  deemed  it  pru- 
dent to  leave  the  place. 

From  Halifax,  Thomas  went  to  Portsmouth,  N.  H. 
in  INIarch,  1767,  and  worked  some  time  in  the  printing- 
offices  of  Daniel  Fowle  and  Russell  &,  Furber.  In 
July  he  returned  to  Boston,  and  was  employed  several 
months  in  the  office  of  his  old  master,  Zechariah  Fowle. 
Afterwards  he  went  to  North  Carolina,  with  an  intention 
of  carrying  on  the  printing  business  at  Wilmington  ;  but, 
after  a  series  of  embarrassing  incidents,  he  relinquished 
his  purpose ;  and,  with  a  second  resolution  to  visit  Eng- 
land, he  entered  as  a  steward  on  board  a  ship  bound  to 


ISAIAH    THOMAS.  231 

the  West-Indies,  intending  to  go  thence  to  London. 
After  performing  duty  on  board  for  ten  days,  he  changed 
his  views,  and  went  to  Charleston,  S.  C.  Here  he  was 
employed  for  a  period  of  two  years,  in  a  printing-office. 
In  1770,  he  returned  to  Boston,  and  entered  into  part- 
nership with  his  former  master,  Fowle.  In  July,  they 
issued  the  first  number  of  a  small  newspaper,  called 
The  Massachusetts  Spy.  It  was  generally  printed  on 
a  quarter  of  a  sheet,  (but  occasionally  on  a  half  sheet 
of  four  quarto  pages,)  and  on  a  Long  Primer  type. 
Their  address  to  the  public  was  simply  a  few  common- 
place promises  to  take  great  care  in  collecting  the  fresh- 
est and  most  authentic  intelligence,  the  material  transac- 
tions of  the  town  and  province,  &,c.  &£c. 

The  first  nun)ber  of  the  Spy  was  distributed,  gratui- 
tously, to  the  inhabitants  of  Boston  and  the  vicinity. 
The  publishers  proposed  to  continue  it,  thrice  a  week, 
on  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Saturday.  The  second 
number  was  published  on  the  second  day  of  August,  and 
it  was  thenceforward  issued  three  times  a  week,  agreeably 
to  their  proposals,  for  three  months.  At  the  end  of  that 
time,  their  partnership  was  dissolved,  and  the  publica- 
tion was  continued  by  Thomas,  twice  a  week,  for  three 
months  longer.  Encouraged  by  his  success,  he  enter- 
tained the  project  of  publishing  a  larger  paper  than  had 
then  been  undertaken  in  New-England  ;  and,  on  the 
seventh  of  March,  1771,  he  published  the  Spy  on  a 
whole  sheet,  royal  size,  folio,  four  pages.  To  the  title 
he  added,  — "  A  weekly  political  and  commercial  pa- 
per ;  Open  to  all  parties,  but  influenced  by  none."  He 
considered  this  as  a  new  publication,  and  called  it  No.  1. 
The  title,  Massachusetts  Spy,  was  in  large  German  text, 


232  MASSACHUSETTS    SPY. 

engraved  on  type  metal,  and  stood  between  two  cuts, 


that  on  the  left  representing  the  goddess  of  Liberty ;  — 
that  on  the  right  representing  two  infants,  selecting  flow- 
ers from  a  basket.  The  publication  day  was  Thursday. 
When  the  first  paper  in  this  new  form  was  published, 
the  subscribers  did  not  amount  to  two  hundred.  After 
the  first  week  they  increased,  almost  daily,  and,  at  the 
end  of  two  years  the  subscription-list  was  larger  than 
that  of  any  of  its  competitors.  It  was  well  supplied 
with  political  essays,  adapted  particularly  to  the  taste 
and  disposition  of  that  class  of  citizens,  who  had  com- 
posed the  majority  of  its  subscribers,  when  it  was  pub- 
lished in  the  smaller  and  cheaper  form.  For  a  few 
weeks,  some  communications  were  sent  in  by  writers, 
who  supported  the  proceedings  of  the  government ;  but 
those  on  the  other  side  were  more  numerous  ;  and,  not- 
withstanding the  readiness,  with  which  he  published 
articles  prepared  by  the  friends  of  the  ruling  powers,  it 
was  well  known  that  Thomas's  political  partialities  were 
all  on  the  side  of  the  Whigs.  It  was  not  long  before 
all  the  tory  writers  denounced  the  paper,  and  all  the 


ISAIAH    THOMAS. 


233 


subscribers,  who  adhered  to  the  government  party,  with- 
drew their  support.  The  Spy  was  then  devoted  entirely 
to  the  cause  of  the  Whigs,  and  the  Whigs  gave  it  a  cor- 
dial and  generous  support.  Many  attempts  were  made 
to  annoy  the  pubhsher,  but  without  effect.  He  contin- 
ued to  pubhsh,  boldly,  and  to  defy  all  tory  opposition, 
though  he  was  frequently  threatened  with  personal  vio- 
lence. To  indicate  his  resolution  to  uphold  the  cause 
of  the  Whigs,  he  added,  as  a  motto,  to  the  head  of  his 
paper,  the  well  known  lines  from  Addison's  Cato,  — 

Do  thou,  great  Liberty,  inspire  our  souls, 
And  make  our  lives  in  thy  possession  happy, 
Or  our  deaths  glorious  iu  thy  just  defence  ! 

In  October,  1772,  the  words  "Thomas's  Boston 
Journal,"  were  added  to  the  title  of  the  Spy. 

Various  attempts  were  made  to  injure  the  circulation 
and  usefulness  of  the  Spy,  and  to  annoy  its  editor  in  the 
pursuit  of  his  profession.  Among  other  pitiful  and  pal- 
try acts  of  the  Tories  to  this  effect,  was  their  refusal  to 
permit  him  to  obtain  from  the  custom-house  an  account 
of  the  arrivals  and  clearances  at  the  port  of  Boston,  — 
an  act,  which  produced  the  following  Card  in  the  Spy  :  — 

To  THE  Public.  A  Tyrant  may  be  justly  compared  to  a  Polypus, 
of  which  the  smallest  portion  broken  off  becomes  almost  immediately 
as  big,  as  voracious,  and  as  deformed  a  thi/ig,  as  the  original ;  entan- 
gling, plaguing,  and  engulphing  every  thing  within  its  reach  and  power. 
How  applicable  this  may  be  to  our  petty  lords,  the  custom-house  officers, 
every  one  is  left  to  judge,  after  being  informed  that  they,  to  discourage 
this  paper,  as  they  phrase  it,  have  denied  this  Press  the  Ship  List, 
notwithstanding,  according  to  the  title,  pieces  from  all  sides  have  been 
inserted  in  it.  The  Printer  conceives  himself  in  no  wise  to  blame  if 
the  Coiu-t  side  are  now  at  a  loss  for  writers,  it  being  his  province  only  to 
publish. 

In  a  postscript,  it  was  added  that  the  Shipping  List 
20* 


234  MASSACHUSETTS    SPY. 

had  been  "  refused  by  a  Brother  Typo,  influenced  by  his 
masters  at  the  custom-house." 

This  produced  a  note  from  Richard  Draper,  the  print- 
er of  the  Massachusetts  Gazette  and  News-Letter,  in 
which  he  acknowledged  that  he  refused  to  furnish  the 
Shipping  List  for  the  Spy,  under  the  influence  of  the 
custom-house  officers  ;  and  charged  Thomas  with  having 
altered  his  pubhcation  day,  for  the  purpose  of  injuring 
the  Gazette.  In  his  reply,  Thomas  justified  the  change 
he  had  adopted,  and  added,  — "  The  judicious  public 
will  determine  for  themselves  whether  your  respectable 
characters  or  their  invaluable  rights  and  privileges  be 
most  worthy  of  their  attention,  and,  undoubtedly  afford 
their  countenance  and  patronage  accordingly." 

Draper  continued  to  pour  out  his  tory  invective,  and 
several  other  measures  were  adopted  by  his  friends  and 
supporters  to  crush  the  Printer  of  the  Spy.  One  of  the 
mean  attempts  of  Governor  Hutchinson,  to  deprive  him 
of  a  job,  is  thus  noticed  by  Thomas  :  — 

"  If  tliine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him."  If  thy  (supposed)  enemy  hun- 
ger, STARVE  him,  is  the  pontifical  language  of  a  man  in  power,  of  whose 
piety  and  virtue  wc  have  lately  had  such  blustering  accounts. 

The  generalitj'  of  the  people  in  this  town,  and  some  persons  of  dis- 
tinction  in  Cambridge,  know  very  well  what  pains  have  been  taken  by  a 
man,  whom  we  could  not  more  disgrace  than  by  saying,  that  he  is,  and 

how  he  became,  the  g of  tliis  p e,*  to  bring  an 

innocent  man,  and  even  offering  to  assist  in  tliis  diabolical  work ;  Long 
ago  would  I  have  stopped  the  Press,  could  I  but  have  persuaded  the 

t  to  have  joined  with  me,"  wc  are  told,  were  the  words  of 

his t     The  effecting  this,  no  doubt,  would  have  been 

productive  of  an  infernal  pleasure ;  and  most  likely,  his J 

would,  as  Milton  expresses  it,  have  "  Grinned  horribly  a  ghastly  smile ! " 
The  mean  and  low  attempts  of  this  great  man  to  get  a  small  job,  that 
came  unsought  for,  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Printer  hereof,  and  put  it 

*  Governor  of  this  province. 

t  Council.  X  Excellency. 


ISAIAH    THOMAS.  235 

into  the  hands  of  a  tool  of  his,  needs  but  to  be  told,  to  make  it  appear 
that  he  is  a  Tyraxt  in  the  Abstkact. 

Draper  continued  his  attacks  upon  the  Spy,  several  of 

which  Thomas  suffered  to  pass  unnoticed.     At  length, 

his  patience  appears  to  have  become  exhausted,  and  he 

gave  out  his  intention  of  having  no  more  to  do  in  the 

quarrel,  in  this  manner  :  — 

To  Mr.  Richard  Draper. 

Recollecting  Sir  ! 

If  your  customers  are  satisfied  to  maintain  a  weekly 
newspaper,  sacred  to  the  ebullitions  of  your  envy  and  private  resent- 
ment, I  have  nothing  to  say  in  the  affair.  But  though  I  might  perfectly 
equal  you  in  random  invective,  I  have  not  the  ambition  to  conceit  my 
performances  would  add  any  thing  considerable  to  the  entertainment  of 
my  generous  encouragers ;  whom  I  wish  to  divert  in  a  much  more 
agreeable  manner,  than  by  any  thing  which  can  arise  from  the  uninter- 
esting squabbles  of  Mi-.  R.  Draper  and  I.  Thomas. 

Among  the  contributors  to  the  Spy,  were  several 
powerful  writers.  A  series  of  numbers,  entitled  The 
Centinel,  begun  soon  after  the  publication  of  the  paper 
in  its  new  form,  exposed,  in  a  powerful  style,  the  injust- 
ice of  the  acts  of  Parliament,  and  stated  the  grievances 
that  the  people  suffered.  The  series  extended  to  more 
than  forty  numbers.     The  motto  to  the  first  was. 

The  child,  that  is  unborn,  will  nie 
The  hunting  of  that  day,  — 

from  the  ballad  of  Chevy  Chase.  A  writer,  under  the 
signature  of  Leonidas,  endeavored  to  stir  up  the  spirit  of 
the  people,  and  skilfully  controverted  the  essays  written 
for  the  tory  papers.  But  the  boldest  writer  for  the 
Whigs,  was  Mucins  Sceevola.  In  one  of  his  communi- 
cations, he  proved,  by  quotations  from  the  records  of  the 
Council,  that  Mr.  Oliver,  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  then 
"  stood  recorded  as  a  perjured  traitor."  In  the  next  paper 
he  attacked  Governor   Hutchinson,   and  undertook  to 


236  MASSACHUSETTS     SPY. 

show  that  Hutchinson  was  not  the  legal  governor  of  the 
province,  but  a  usurper, — that  "he  ought  to  be  dis- 
missed and  punished  as  a  usurper,  —  and  that  the  Coun- 
cil, according  to  charter,  should  take  upon  themselves 
the  government  of  the  Province."  For  the  publishing 
of  this  article,  the  attorney-general  was  ordered  to  prose- 
cute the  printer  for  a  libel ;  but  the  Grand  Jury  refused 
to  indict  him.  Mucius  Scaevola  continued  to  write  and 
Thomas  to  publish. 

In  July,  1774,  during  the  operation  of  the  Boston 
Port  Bill,  and  soon  after  the  landin<r  of  four  recriments 
of  British  soldiers,  with  a  train  of  artillery,  the  Spy 
appeared  with  a  new  political  device  at  its  head,  repre- 
senting a  snake  and  a  dragon.  The  dragon  represented 
Great  Britain,  and  the  snake  the  Colonies.  The  snake 
was  divided  into  nine  parts :  the  head  was  one  part,  and 
under  it  were  the  letters  N.  E.  denoting  New-England  ; 
the  second  part,  N.  Y.  for  New-York  ;  the  third  N.  J. 
for  New-Jersey  ;  the  fourth  P.  for  Pennsylvania ;  the 
fifth  jNI.  for  Maryland ;  the  sixth  V.  for  Virginia ;  the 
seventh  N.  C.  for  North  Carolina  ;  the  eighth  S.  C. 
for  South  Carolina ;  and  the  ninth  part  for  Georgia. 
This  device  extended  across  the  entire  width  of  the 
page,  and  over  it,  in  large  capitals  was  the  motto, 
"  Join  or  die."  * 

Having  rendered  himself  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  the 
resentment  of  the  Tories,  and  being  openly  threatened 
with  violence  by  some  of  the  British  soldiery,  Thomas 
thought  that  his  personal  safety  demanded  that  he  should 


*  This  device  was  not  entirely  original  with  Thomaa.  The  snake,  divided, 
with  the  motto,  was  first  publi.-hed  in  an  anonymous  paper,  called  the  Constitu- 
lional  Courant,  said  to  have  been  printed  at  Burlington,  New-Jersey,  in  1768.  See 
page  245. 


ISAIAH    THOMAS.  237 

leave  Boston.  Accordingly,  a  few  days  previous  to  the 
affair  at  Lexington,  he  packed  up  his  press  and  a  por- 
tion of  his  types,  and  sent  them  by  night,  across  the 
river  to  Charlestown,  —  whence  they  were  conveyed  to 
Worcester.  The  press  and  types  constituted  the  whole 
of  the  property,  saved  from  the  proceeds  of  five  years  of 
labor ;  the  remainder  was  destroyed  or  carried  away  by 
the  followers  and  adherents  of  the  royal  army  when  it 
left  the  town. 

On  the  night  of  the  eighteenth  of  April,  Thomas  was 
concerned  with  Paul  Revere  and  others  in  giving  inform- 
ation  that  the  British  troops  were  crossing  Charles 
River,  with  the  supposed  intention  of  destroying  the 
military  stores,  that  had  been  collected  by  the  provincial 
authorities  at  Concord.  At  day-break,  the  next  day  he 
joined  the  provincial  militia  at  Lexington,  to  oppose  the 
progress  of  the  British  troops.  The  next  day  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Worcester,  and  prepared  to  publish  his  paper 
at  that  place. 

On  the  third  of  May,  —  four  weeks  after  the  publica- 
tion had  been  suspended  in  Boston,  —  the  Spy  was  pre- 
sented to  the  public  in  Worcester.  This  was  the  first 
printing  that  was  executed  in  any  inland  town  in  New- 
England.  It  was  now  entitled  "  The  Massachusetts 
Spy:  Or,  An  American  Oracle  of  Liberty."  Over  the 
title  was  the  motto,  —  "  Americans  !  —  Liberty  or  Death  ! 
—  Join  or  Die  !  " 

The  first  number  published  at  Worcester  was  intro- 
duced by  the  following  brief  notice  to  the  Public :  — 

The  good  people  of  this  county,  at  a  meeting  some  time  since,  voted 
to  encourage  the  establishment  of  a  Printing-Office  in  this  place.  In 
consequence  thereof,  application  was  made  to  me,  then  in  Boston,  to 


238  MASSACHUSETTS    SPY. 

issne  proposals  for  publishing  a  weekly  Newspaper  in  this  town,  to  he 
entitled,  The  Worcester  Gazette,  or  American  Oracle  of  Liberty. 
This  I  accordingly  did ;  Since  that  time,  things  have  worn  a  different 
face  in  our  distressed  capital,  and  it  was  thought  highly  necessary  that 
I  should  remove  my  printing  materials  from  Boston  to  this  place,  and 
instead  of  publishing  the  intended  Worcester  Gazette,  &c.  continue  the 
publication  of  the  well-known  Massachusetts  Spy,  or  Thomas's  Boston 
Journal :  I  accordingly  removed  my  printing  utensils  from  Boston  on 
the  memorable  nineteenth  of  April,  1775,  v.-hich  will  be  remembered  in 
future  as  the  anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  Lexington.  I  intend  pub- 
lishing this  paper  regularly  every  Wednesday,  and  have  made  an  alter- 
ation in  the  title,  in  order  to  take  in  part  of  that  intended  for  the 
Gazette. 

I  beg  the  assistance  of  all  tlic  friends  to  our  righteous  cause  to  circu- 
late this  paper.  They  may  rely  tliat  the  utmost  of  my  poor  endeavors 
shall  be  used  to  maintain  those  rights  and  privileges,  for  which  we  and 
our  Fathers  have  bled  !  and  that  all  possible  care  shall  be  taken  to  pro- 
cure the  most  interesting  and  authentic  intelligence. 

I  am  the  Public's  most  obedient  Scr\'ant, 
Isaiah  Thomas. 

In  the  Spy  of  May  31,  1776,  Thomas  gave  notice 
that  he  proposed  to  remove  to  Boston,  —  urged  his  cus- 
tomers to  settle  as  soon  as  possible,  —  and  said  he  was 
willing  to  do  all  in  his  power,  towards  continuing  a 
printing-office  in  Worcester.  He  added,  "  If  a  sufficient 
number  of  subscribers  appear,  to  continue  to  support  the 
publication  of  a  newspaper  in  this  town,  a  Press,  in  all 
probability  will  be  continued,  and  a  public  paper  regu- 
larly printed  each  week  after  the  handbill  is  out." 

The  next  number  of  the  Spy  was  published  on  the 
twenty-first  of  June,  following,  by  William  Stearns  and 
Daniel  Bigelow,  under  a  lease  from  the  proprietor. 
They  adopted  a  new  motto  ;  —  "  Undaunted  by  Tyrants, 
we  will  die  or  be  free."  After  a  suitable  explanation 
touching  their  business  arrangements,  they  say,  — 

The  liberty  and  free  exercise  of  the  Press,  is  the  greatest  temporal 
safeguard  of  the  State.    It  assists  the  civil  magistrate  in  wielding  the 


STEARNS    AND    BIGELOW.  239 

sword  of  justice — holds  up  to  public  view  the  vicious,  in  their  truly- 
odious  colors  —  and  "  is  a  praise  and  encouragement  to  them  that  do 
well."  It  detects  political  impostors,  and  is  a  terrific  scourge  to  tyrants. 
Kone  can  notoriously  transgress  the  line  of  duty%  who  may  not  be 
hereby  subjected  to  public  contempt  and  ignominy.  It  is  one  grand 
mean  of  promoting  jjublic  virtue.  It  conveys  knowledge  to  mankind, 
by  acquainting  them  with  the  state  of  the  community  to  which  they 
belong,  whereby  they  are  better  able  to  regulate  their  police  —  to  sup- 
ply its  defects,  or  lop  off  its  excrescences.  It  serves  to  increase  the 
majesty  of  the  people,  by  giving  them  understanding  in  the  times,  and 
conve^nng  to  them  "  the  knowledge  of  what  Israel  ought  to  do."  In 
fine,  it  is  capable  of  being  made  the  source  of  general  literature. 

Daniel  Bigelow  was  born  in  Worcester,  April  27, 
1752,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1775.  After 
surrendering  the  Spy  to  its  proprietor,  in  1777,  he  began 
the  study  of  the  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1780.  He  opened  an  office  in  Petersham,  represented 
that  town  in  the  General  Court  from  1790  to  1795,  was 
a  member  of  the  executiv^e  council  in  1801,  and  was 
some  time  county  attorney.  He  died  at  Petersham, 
November  5,  1806.* 

William  Stearns  was  a  native  of  Lunenburg,  in  the 
county  of  Worcester,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
in  1770.  He  studied  divinity,  and  preached  for  a  short 
time,  but  was  not  settled  as  a  clergyman.  He  then  de- 
voted himself  to  the  profession  of  the  law,  and  was 
admitted  to  practice  in  December,  1776.  He  opened 
an  office  in  Worcester,  and  his  professional  business  was 
considerable,  till  his  early  death,  in  i784.f 

These  gentlemen  conducted  the  Spy  one  year.  It 
was  then  leased,  for  another  year,  to  Anthony  Haswell. 
These  two  years, — or  a  part  of  them,  —  were  spent  by 
Thomas  in  Boston  and  Salem.     In  the  place  last  men- 

*  Lincoln's  History  of  Worcester,  p.  2G5.  t  Ibid.  p.  232. 


240 


MASSACHUSETTS    SPY. 


tioned,  it  was  his  intention  to  carry  on  the  business  of 
printing ;  but  not  succeeding  according  to  his  wishes,  he 
sold  the  materials  he  had  carried  there,  returned  to 
Worcester,  and  resumed  the  publication  of  the  Spy,  with 
a  new  motto,  —  "  Unanimity  at  Home,  and  Bravery  and 
Perseverance  in  the  Field,  will  secure  the  Independence 
of  America." 

In  1781,  the  Spy  was  greatly  improved  in  its  paper  and 
typography,  with  an  engraved  title,  and  these  two  devices 
at  its  head,  —  the  design  of  which  would  hardly  be  un- 
derstood, without  the  explanation  given  by  Thomas  :  — 


The  device  on  the  left  is  a  figure  representing  Ameiicn,  an  Indian, 
holding  the  cap  of  Liberty  on  a  staff  with  the  left  hand,  and,  in  the 
right,  a  spear,  aimed  at  the  British  Lion,  which  appears  attacking  her 
from  the  opposite  shore.  That  on  the  right  is  a  chain  of  thirteen  links, 
with  a  star  in  each  link,  repi'cscnting  the  union  of  the  thirteen  States  : 
the  chain  is  placed  in  a  circular  form,  leaving  an  opening  for  the  arms  of 
France,  to  which  the  ends  of  the  chain  are  attached.  Above  the  arms 
are  two  hands  clasped,  and,  dii-ectly  over  them  a  sword,  with  its  hilt 
resting  on  the  clasped  hands. 

The  title  now  was  "  Thomas's  Massachusetts  Spy  ;  or 

the  Worcester  Gazette,"  with  the  motto, —  "The  noble 

Efforts  of  a  Virtuous,  Free,  and  United  People,  shall 

extirpate  Tyranny,  and  establish  Liberty  and  Peace." 


ISAIAH    THOMAS.  241 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  the 
paper  was  enlarged,  each  page  containing  five  columns, 
and  printed  on  new  types.  The  motto  was  again 
changed  to  "  Noscere  res  humanas  est  Hominis  —  Know- 
ledge of  the  World  is  essentially  necessary  for  every 
Man."  The  Spy  was  well  conducted,  and  filled  with 
excellent  matter.  Besides  selections  of  news  and  com- 
munications on  interesting  subjects,  the  whole  of  Rob- 
ertson's History  of  America,  Gordon's  History  of  the 
Revolution,  and  large  extracts  from  Guthrie's  Geogra- 
phy and  other  British  publications,  enriched  its  pages, 
and  rendered  it  more  valuable  than  any  other  paper  pub- 
lished in  Massachusetts.  A  series  of  essays  entitled  the 
Worcester  Speculator,  appeared  weekly.  These  were 
furnished  by  a  society  of  gentlemen  in  the  county  of 
Worcester,  of  whom  the  Rev.  Dr.  Fiske  of  Brookfield 
was  one.  The  numbers,  written  by  him,  together  with 
some  other  pieces  of  his  composition,  were  afterwards 
printed  in  two  duodecimo  volumes,  entitled  "  The  Moral 
Monitor." 

Occasional  improvements  were  made  in  the  mechan- 
ical appearance  and  in  the  literary  character  of  the  Spy, 
until  March,  1786,  when  the  proprietor  suddenly  sus- 
pended the  publication,  and  issued  a  few  numbers  of  a 
periodical,  which  he  called  the  "  Worcester  JNIagazine," — 
intended  as  a  substitute  for  the  Spy, — but  the  attempt 
was  not  successful.  The  avowed  reason  for  suspending 
the  publication  of  the  Spy,  was  the  tax  laid  on  "  licensed 
vellum,  parchment,  and  paper,"  by  the  Legislature  of 
Massachusetts,  passed  in  March,  1785.  This  act  im- 
posed a  duty  of  two  thirds  of  a  penny  on  newspapers 
and  a  penny  on  almanacks,  which  were  to  be  stamped. 
21 


242  MASSACHUSETTS    SPY. 

It  was  extremely  unpopular.  It  was  to  take  effect  on 
the  first  day  of  July  next  after  its  passage ;  but  the  op- 
position to  it  was  so  extensive  and  determined,  that,  at 
the  next  session  of  the  Legislature,  in  June,  1785,  it 
was  repealed.  But  another  act  was  passed,  which  im- 
posed a  duty  on  all  advertisements,  printed  in  the  news- 
papers. This  was  no  less  offensive  than  the  former  act ; 
and  was  considered  by  the  Printers  as  a  greater  griev- 
ance, —  "a  shackle,  which  no  legislature  but  ours, 
either  in  British  or  United  America,  have  laid  on  the 
Press,  which,  when  free,  is  the  acknowledged  great  bul- 
wark of  Liberty,  and  the  boast  of  a  Free  and  Independ- 
ent People."  *  The  Spy  of  March  30,  1786,  has  the 
following  article,  in  large  and  imposing  type :  — 

Extra  Information.    Real! 

THE  Massachusetts  SPY  (which  it  is  acknowledged  has  been  of 
very  essential  service  to  the  cause  of  the  United  States,  and  to  this 
Commonwealth  in  particular,  before,  at,  and  since  the  late  Revolution) 
is  now  lanp:uishing'  with  a  ilangerous  Wound,  given  it  by  the  Legislature 
of  Massachusetts,  on  the  second  day  of  July  last.  Humble  and  united 
application  has  been  made  for  a  particular  kind  of  Court  Plnister,  which 
could  speedily  have  wrought  a  Cure;  but  as  that  Power,  only,  who  gave 
the  Wound,  could  apply  the  Bemedy  with  effect,  it  could  not  be  ob- 
tained! The  wound  grows  worse  daily  —  Moiiljication  has  taken  place, 
and  in  all  probability  will  soon  prove  fatal  to  the  existence  of  that  Old 
Publick  Servant!  —  ''  Alas,  pooe  SPY  !  " 

Gentle  Reader,  if  thou  hast  a  benevolent  heart,  thy  compassion  will 
be  moved,  when  thou  art  informed  that  the  Wound  given  was  as  unjust 
as  it  was  unmerited  —  it  was  given  at  a  time  when  this  faithful  Servant 
of  the  Publick,  after  having  fought  the  battles  of  its  country,  was 
sounding  forth  her  Praise  —  endeavoring  to  clear  her  from  the  Asper- 
sions thrown  upon  her  by  her  enemies,  and  diligently  watching  their 
motions. 

Generous  Reader,  the  services  rendered  by  the  Spy  to  the  Publick, 
were  not  for  the  sake  of  sordid  gain,  but  from  Principle:  —  The  only 
Reward  for  fifteen  years  hard  duty  was  this  inhuman  attack  upon  its 

*  Mass.  Spy,  Sept.  29,  1785. 


ISAIAH    THOMAS,    JUN.  243 

existence  !  and  the  existence  of  all  its  near  Relations,  the  whole  Family 
of  Gazettes  in  this  Commonwealth. 

During  the  suspension  of  the  pubHcation,  Thomas  was 
engaged  in  the  publishing  and  selling  of  books,  and  in 
making  additions  to  his  printing  apparatus.  On  the  se- 
cond day  of  April,  1788,  the  Spy  reappeared,  with  the 
following  salutatory  :  — 

The  Printer  has  the  happiness  of  once  more  presenting  to  the  Pub- 
lick,  the  IVIassacudsetts  Spy,  or  the  AVorcestek  Gazette,  which 
at  length  is  restored  to  its  Constitutional  Liheiiy,  (thanks  to  our  present 
Legislature,)  after  a  suspension  of  two  years.  Heaven  grant  that  the 
FREEDOM  of  the  PRESS,  on  which  depends  the  FREEDOM  of  the 
PEOPLE,  may,  in  the  United  States,  ever  be  guarded  with  a  watchful 
eye,  and  defended  from  Shackles  of  every  form  and  shape,  imtil  the 
trump  of  the  celestial  messenger  shall  announce  the  final  dissolution  of 
all  things. 

The  Spy  was  an  advocate  for  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  joined  with  most  other  papers  in  their 
rejoicings  when  that  instrument  was  adopted,  and  went 
into  operation.  Its  editor  was  strenuous  in  favor  of 
the  introduction  and  use  of  titles.  For  a  year  or  two 
after  the  organization  of  the  Federal  government,  it  sel- 
dom spoke  of  the  President  but  as  "  His  Highness, 
George  Washington,"  or  "  His  Highness  the  President- 
General,"  Sic.  Mr.  Thomas  was  connected  with  the 
Spy,  till  the  year  1801.  In  1792  it  purported  to  be 
"  printed  by  Isaiah  Thomas  and  Leonard  Worcester ;  "  — 
in  1793,  "  for  Isaiah  Thomas  and  Leonard  Worcester, 
by  Leonard  Worcester ;  "  —  in  1794,  "  by  Leonard  Wor- 
cester, for  Isaiah  Thomas;"  —  in  1801,  "by  Isaiah 
Thomas,  jun.  for  Isaiah  Thomas  «fc  Son  ;  "  —  and  after- 
wards, "  by  and  for  Isaiah  Thomas,  jun."  The  name 
of  the  senior  never  afterward  appeared  in  connection 
with  the  ownership  of  the  paper. 


244  MASSACHUSETTS    SPY. 

About  the  year  1814,  William  Manning,  of  Boston, 
became  the  publisher  of  the  Spy,  "  for  Isaiah  Thomas, 
jun."  A  few  years  after,  the  establishment  was  sold  to 
John  Milton  Earle,  by  whom  it  is  still  owned  and  pub- 
lished.    It  is  the  oldest  newspaper  in  Massachusetts. 

Previous  to  his  relinquishing  the  Spy  to  his  son,  Mr. 
Thomas  had  extended  his  business  relations  to  several 
places.  He  was  the  senior  partner  in  the  house  of 
Thomas  &;  Andrews  in  Boston,  which  carried  on  the 
business  of  printing  and  bookselling  for  many  years  sub- 
sequent to  1788.  The  Massachusetts  Magazine,  a 
monthly  periodical,  was  published  by  them  from  the  com- 
mencement of  their  partnership  till  1795.  In  1793,  he 
set  up  a  press,  published  a  paper,  and  opened  a  book- 
store at  Walpole,  N.  H.  in  connection  with  David  Car- 
lisle, one  of  his  freed  apprentices,  a  native  of  Walpole 
In  connection  with  another  of  his  apprentices  he  estab- 
lished a  paper  at  Brookfield,  in  the  county  of  Worcester. 
He  also  had  business  connections  at  Albany,  Baltimore, 
and  Newburyport.  Among  the  most  important  works, 
which  came  from  his  press  at  Worcester,  was  an  edition 
of  the  Bible  in  folio,  with  plates ;  an  edition  in  quarto, 
with  a  concordance  ;  another  edition  in  octavo,  and  a 
fourth  in  duodecimo.  The  types  for  this  edition  were 
kept  standing,  and  were  afterwards  transferred  to  the 
office  of  Thomas  &;  Andrews,  in  Boston. 

In  1810,  Mr.  Thomas  published  his  History  of  Print- 
ing, in  two  volumes  octavo,  —  a  work  of  great  labor, 
and  which  will  give  him  an  undisputed  claim  to  the  re- 
gard of  posterity.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  American 
Antiquarian  Society,  to  which  he  bequeathed  his  valua- 
ble Library  and  a  building  for  its  accommodation.     He 


ISAIAH    THOMAS,    JUN.  245 

also  gave  to  the  county  of  Worcester  the  land,  on  which 
a  Court-House  was  erected,  and  to  the  town  he  made 
many  donations  of  great  value.  From  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  Master  of  Arts, 
and  that  of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Alleghany  College. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Historical  Societies  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  New- York,  and  of  various  other  Philosoph- 
ical, Literary,  Humane,  Charitable,  and  Typographic 
Societies.  In  Freemasonry  he  filled  the  highest  and 
most  honored  stations  of  the  institution,  and  probably 
presided  on,  or  was  present  at,  more  public  conventions, 
dedications,  installations,  and  festivals,  than  any  other 
individual  of  the  fraternity.  He  was  President  of  the 
Antiquarian  Society  from  its  foundation  to  his  decease. 
He  was  appointed  a  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Sessions  in 
1812,  but  never  legally  qualified  himself  to  perform  the 
duties  of  the  office,  and,  it  is  believed,  never  took  a  seat 
on  the  bench. 

Mr.  Thomas  died  at  his  residence  in  Worcester,  on 
the  fourth  of  April,  1831,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two 
years,  and  his  remains  were  deposited  in  a  tomb,  which 
he  had  erected  many  years  before,  as  their  intended 
place  of  rest.  "His  memory  will  be  kept  green,  when 
the  recollection  of  other  eminent  citizens  shall  have 
passed  in  oblivion.  His  reputation,  in  future  time,  will 
rest,  as  a  patriot,  on  the  manly  independence,  which 
gave,  —  through  the  initiatory  stages  and  progress  of  the 
Revolution,  —  the  strong  influence  of  the  press  he  di- 
rected, to  the  cause  of  freedom,  when  royal  flattery 
would  have  seduced,  and  the  power  of  government  sub- 
dued its  action."  * 

*  Lincoln's  History  of  Worcester,  p.  294. 
21  * 


246 


MASSACHUSETTS     SPY. 


The  Constitutional  Courant,  referred  to  in  the 
preceding  account  of  tlie  Spy,  page  236,  purports  to  be 
"  Printed  by  Andrew  Marvel,  at  the  sign  of  the  Bribe 
refused,  on  Constitution  Hill,  North-America,"  and  is 
dated  "Saturday,  September  21,  1765."  It  has  for  a 
motto,  "  Containing  matters  interesting  to  Liberty,  and 
nowise  repugnant  to  Loyalty."  It  is  a  half  sheet  of  me- 
dium size.  In  the  centre  of  the  title  is  the  annexed 
device :  — 


JOIN  or  DIE 

A  large  number  of  copies  of  this  paper  were  secretly 
transmitted  to  New- York,  and  there  sold  by  hawkers  and 
pedlers,  employed  for  the  purpose.  Mr.  Thomas  says 
it  was  printed  at  Burlington,  and  the  copy  now  before 
me,  which  belongs  to  the  library  of  Harvard  College, 
has  "  Burlington,  N.  J."  written  under  the  words  "  Con- 
stitution Hill."  The  same  copy  has,  under  the  name 
"  Andrew  Marvel,"  in  the  same  hand,  the  words  "  pseu- 
donyme  Wm.  Goddard."  This  copy  was  presented  to 
the  College  by  the  heirs  of  the  late  Rev.  James  Free- 
man, D.  D. ;  but  these  explanations  are  not  in  his  hand- 
writing.    Mr.  Thomas,  probably,  had  not  a  copy  of  the 


ISAIAH    THOMAS.  247 

paper  before  him,  when  he  wrote  his  account  of  it ;  for 
he  calls  it  the  Constitutional  Gazette.  He  says,  —  It 
excited  some  commotion  in  New- York,  and  was  taken 
notice  of  by  the  government.  A  council  was  called, 
and  holden  at  the  Fort  in  that  city,  but  as  no  discovery 
was  made  of  the  author  or  printer,  nothing  was  done. 
One  of  the  council  demanded  of  a  hawker  named  Sam- 
uel Sweeney  "  where  that  incendiary  paper  was  print- 
ed ?  "  Sweeney,  as  he  had  been  instructed,  answered, 
"  At  Peter  Hassenclever's  iron  works,  please  your  honor." 
Peter  Hassenclever  was  a  wealthy  German,  well  known 
as  the  owner  of  extensive  iron  works  in  New- Jersey. 
Afterward,  other  publications  of  a  like  kind,  frequently 
appeared  with  an  imprint  —  "  Printed  at  Peter  Hassen- 
clever's iron  works."  Only  one  number  of  the  Constitu- 
tional Gazette  [Courant,]  was  published  ;  a  continuance 
of  it  was  never  intended.  It  was  printed  by  William 
Goddard,  at  Parker's  printing  house  at  Burlington,  — 
Goddard  having  previously  obtained  Parker's  permission 
occasionally  to  use  his  press.* 

This  paper  contained  but  two  articles,  beside  the  ad- 
dress of  the  fictitious  Andrew  Marvel. 

*  History  of  Printing,  vol.  ii.  p.  322. 


THE   INDEPENDENT   CHRONICLE. 


In  the  early  part  of  the  summer  of  1776,  Powars  &c 
Willis,  having  purchased  the  New-England  Chronicle  of 
Samuel  Hall,  presented  themselves  to  the  public  as  edi- 
tors and  proprietors  of  the  paper,  saying,  — "  As  we 
shall,  besides  inserting  all  the  most  material  advices, 
both  foreign  and  domestic,  endeavor  to  select  such  pieces 
of  speculation  as  will  best  tend  to  encourage  virtue  and 
good  order  in  society,  and  particularly  such  as  may 
inspire  all  orders  of  men  with  a  true  spirit  of  resolution 
and  heroism,  in  support  of  our  invaluable  rights  and  lib- 


POWARS    AND    WILLIS.  249 

ertles,  we  hope  to  be  favored  with  the  custom  of  all  the 
late  and  present  subscribers  of  this  paper.  They  may  be 
assured,  that  the  character  it  has  hitherto  sustained  in 
exposing,  condenming,  and  execrating  the  Jesuitical  and 
infernal  machinations  of  Tories  and  tyrants,  and  in  ren- 
dering praise  and  honor  to  the  manly  and  virtuous  sup- 
porters of  the  GLORIOUS  CAUSE  OF  America,  we  shall, 
with  assiduity  and  zeal,  endeavor  to  persevere."  To 
the  extent  of  their  ability,  these  editors  were  faithful  to 
their  engagements,  and  never  faltered  in  condemning  and 
opposing  all,  who  were  supposed  to  entertain  any  affec- 
tion for  the  British  government.  Their  paper  was  an 
important  auxiliary  in  promoting  and  sustaining  the  cause 
of  the  country. 

Until  November,  1776,  they  made  no  change  in  the 
title  of  the  paper.  In  that  month,  they  made  sundry 
typographical  improvements,  gave  it  the  name  of  "  Inde- 
pendent Chronicle  and  Universal  Advertiser,"  and  deco- 
rated the  head  with  the  device,  which  is  given  above. 
Independence  had  been  declared,  and  the  war  with 
Great  Britain  had  begun  in  good  earnest.  All  the  inci- 
dents of  the  conflict  were  regularly  detailed,  and  fre- 
quently accompanied  with  remarks,  indicating  entire 
devotion  to  political  national  independence,  and  a  firm 
resolution  to  support  the  position  assumed  by  the  Conti- 
nental Congress.  They  were  occasionally  aided  by  cor- 
respondents. Samuel  Adams,  and  John  Hancock,  and 
other  prominent  Whigs,  were  among  the  contributors  to 
the  columns  of  the  Chronicle.  One  of  their  correspond- 
ents sent  for  publication  the  following  verses,  which  he 
said  had  just  fallen  into  his  hands.  The  author's  name 
is  not  given.  They  are  a  parody  on  a  well-known  Song, 
that  was  popular  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  :  — 


250  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

In  a  mouldering  cave,  where  the  oppressed  retreat, 

Columbia  sat,  wasted  with  care ; 
She  wept  for  her  Warren  —  exclaimed  against  Fate, 

And  gave  herself  up  to  despair. 
The  walls  of  her  cell  she  had  sculptured  around, 

With  the  form  of  her  favorite  son, 
And  even  the  dust,  as  it  lay  on  the  ground, 

Expressed  the  high  deeds  he  had  done. 
The  sire  of  the  gods,  from  his  crystalline  throne, 

Beheld  the  disconsolate  dame ; 
And,  moved  at  her  tears,  he  sent  Mercury  down, 

And  these  were  the  tidings  that  came :  — 
"  Columbia,  forbear !  not  a  sigh  to  alloy. 

For  thy  Warren,  so  justly  beloved ; 
Thy  griefs  shall  be  changed  into  triumphs  of  joy, 

Thy  Warren  's  not  dead,  but  removed. 
"  The  sons  of  the  earth,  the  proud  giants  of  old, 

Have  broke  from  their  darksome  abode ; 
And  this  is  the  news  —  for  in  heaven  it  is  told  — 

They  arc  marching  to  war  with  the  gods. 
A  council  was  held  in  the  chambers  of  Jove, 

And  this  was  the  final  decree, 
That  Warren  should  soar  to  the  armies  above — 

And  the  charge  was  enti-usted  to  me. 
"  To  Bunker's  tall  heights  with  the  orders  I  flew ; 

He  begged  for  a  moment's  delay ; 
Like  Wolfe,  cried,  — '  Forbear  !  let  me  A-ictory  hear, 

And  then  thy  commands  I'll  obey  !  ' 
He  spake — with  a  film  I  encompassed  his  eyes, 

And  bore  him  away  in  an  um. 
Lest  the  fondness  he  felt  for  the  heroes  he  left 

Should  tempt  him  again  to  return." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1777  the  Chronicle  thus 
saluted  the  public  :  — 

The  Printers  and  publishers  of  the  Independent  Chronicle  and  Uni- 
versal Advertiser,  (to  keep  pace  with  others  of  their  profession  of  more 
ancient  standing)  beg  leave,  through  this  channel,  to  congratulate  their 
customers  on  the  arrival  of  the  New  Year, — being  the  first  that  has 
rolled  over  since  their  publication. 

At  the  same  time  tliat  they  welcome  in  the  New  Year,  they  cannot 
pass  over,  in  silent  forgetfulness,  the  cruel,  inhuman  treatment,  that 
America  has  experienced,  during  a  series  of  months,  without  mention- 


POWARS    AND    WILLIS.  251 

ing  the  desolating  conflagration  of  Cliarlestown,  Falmouth,  Norfolk, 
&c.  from  those,  whom  she  once  embraced  as  her  bosom  friends ;  and 
whose  interest  would,  to  this  day,  have  been  considei-ed  as  inseparably 
connected  with  her  own,  had  not  a  sincere  love  to  America,  in  general, 
and  the  great  and  good  law  of  self-preservation,  dictated  a  total  separa- 
tion :  Which  the  Grand  Council  of  these  Confederated  States,  in  their 
Wisdom,  have  seen  fit  for  ever  to  dissolve. 

That  Amei-ica  may  prove  victorious,  and  all,  who  have  spirit,  resolu- 
tion, fortitude,  and  -sartne,  sufficient  to  assert  her  much  injured  (though 
glorious)  cause,  obtain  what  the  whole  collective  wisdom  of  these  States 
say  they  have  an  "  unalienable  right"  to,  \\z.  "Peace,  Libekty,  and 
Safety,"  is  the  ardent  wish  of  the  Public's  much  obliged,  and  most 
devoted,  humble  servants,  The  Printers,  i&c. 

Powars  &:  Willis  published  the  Chronicle  till  near  the 
close  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  The  Rev.  William 
Gordon,  one  of  the  ministers  of  Roxbury,  wrote  for  it  a 
great  number  of  communications,  on  the  subject  of  gov- 
ernment, intended  chiefly  to  enlighten  the  people  in  re- 
gard to  the  nature  and  effects  of  the  constitution  of 
Massachusetts,  —  a  draft  of  which  had  been  reported  by 
the  convention  called  for  that  purpose.  He  also  wrote 
other  articles,  in  aid  of  the  Colonies  against  the  Parlia- 
ment.* 

After  Powars  left  the  concern,  the  Chronicle  was  pub- 
lished by  Willis  alone,  till  the  first  of  January,  1784, 
when  it  passed  from  his  possession  to  the  hands  of 
Thomas  Adams  and  John  Nourse. 

Edward   Eveleth   Powars,  the  senior   partner   in 

*  Dr.  Gordon  was  a  native  of  Hertfordshire,  and,  early  in  life,  was  settled  as 
pastor  of  a  large  independent  church  at  Ipswich,  in  England.  It  is  said  that  his 
partiality  for  America  caused  him  to  emigrate  to  this  country,  in  1770.  He  was 
settled  over  the  third  parish  in  Roxbury,  in  1772.  He  took  an  active  part  in  public 
measures,  during  the  war,  and  was  chosen  chaplain  to  the  Provincial  Congress  of 
Massachusetts.  Afler  the  war,  he  returned  to  his  native  country,  and  published 
liis  Histury  of  the  American  Revolution,  —  a  work,  which  had  occupied  his  atten- 
tion fur  some  years,  and  for  the  composition  of  which  he  had  the  advantage  of  con- 
sulting the  records  of  Congress,  and  of  reading  the  letters  of  Washington,  Gates, 
Greene,  Lincoln,  and  others.     See  Alleii'i  Biographical  Diclwnary. 


252  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

the  firm  of  Powars  &i  Willis,  was,  I  believe,  a  native  of 
Boston  or  Charlestown.  He  had  been  the  printer  of  a 
paper  before  he  joined  Willis  in  the  purchase  of  the 
Chronicle.  After  he  left  that  paper  he  was  connected 
with  several  others,  none  of  which  had  the  good  fortune 
to  gain  extensive  circulation,  or  to  afford  much  profit  to 
the  publisher.  One  of  these,  called  the  American  Her- 
ald, he  published  in  Boston,  for  six  or  seven  years,  pre- 
vious to  1788,  when  he  removed  to  Worcester,  and  con- 
tinued the  publication,  under  the  title  of  the  American 
Herald  and  Worcester  Recorder.  It  was  discontinued 
in  about  two  years.  I  became  acquainted  with  him  in 
1803,  when  he  was  at  work  as  a  compositor  in  the  office 
of  Samuel  Etheridge,  in  Charlestown.  Afterwards  he 
held  the  office  of  Messenger  to  the  Governor  and  Coun- 
cil of  the  Commonwealth.  At  a  later  period,  he  was  a 
traveling  bookseller,  and  died  on  one  of  his  expeditions 
in  the  Western  States. 

Nathaniel  Willis,  mentioned  above  as  the  partner 
of  Powars,  was  a  native  of  Boston,  and  learned  the 
trade  of  a  printer  in  the  celebrated  house  of  Green  & 
Russell.  After  disposing  of  his  interest  in  the  Chroni- 
cle, at  the  close  of  the  year  1793,  he  removed  to  Win- 
chester, Virginia,  and  published  a  paper  there,  for  a  short 
time.  He  then  removed  to  Shepardstown,  where  he 
also  published  a  paper,  and  thence  to  Martinsburg,  in 
which  place  he  published  a  small  paper,  called  the 
Potomac  Guardian.  His  next,  and,  I  believe,  his  last 
removal  was  to  Chilicothe,  in  Ohio,  —  then  the  North- 
western Territory.  There  he  printed  the  Scioto  Gazette, 
which  was  the  official  paper  of  the  territorial  government, 
and  probably  the  only   paper  printed  within  its  limits. 


NATHANIEL    WILLIS.  SI 


He  purchased  and  cultivated  a  farm,  near  Chilicotlie,  on 
which  he  ended  his  days.  He  was  the  father  of  Nathan- 
iel Willis,  —  well  known  as  the  publisher  of  the  Boston 
Recorder,  —  and  the  grandfather  of  Nathaniel  P.  Willis, 
one  of  the  present  editors  of  the  Home  Journal,  in  New- 
York,  —  whom  merely  to  name  is  sufficient  to  awaken  a 
sentiment  of  esteem  and  admiration  for  one  of  the  most 
agreeable  prose-writers,  that  our  country  has  produced, 
and  a  poet,  whose  numbers  will  live  to  delight  a  future 
age,  and  place  him  in  the  foremost  rank  of  those,  who 
have  invested  wit  with  modesty  and  decorum,  and  added 
grace  and  innocence  to  the  refinements  of  fashion. 

About  the  time  when  the  treaty  of  1783  with  Great- 
Britain  was  a  subject  of  general  interest,  attempts  were 
made  in  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  to  restore  the 
Tories,  who  had  left  the  country,  to  their  original  rights. 
The  writers  in  the  Chronicle  were  zealous  opponents  of 
this  plan.  As  an  illustration  of  the  temper  and  tone  of 
their  writings,  take  the  following,  from  the  Chronicle  of 
May  22,  1783  :  — 

As  Hannibal  swore  never  to  be  at  peace  with  the  Eomans,  so  let 
every  Whig  swear  —  by  the  abhoiTence  of  Slaveiy  —  by  liberty  and  re- 
ligion—  by  the  shades  of  those  departed  friends  who  have  fallen  in 
battle  —  by  the  ghosts  of  those  of  our  brethren  who  have  been  destroyed 
on  board  of  prison-ships  and  in  loathsome  dungeons  —  by  the  names  of 
a  Hayne  and  other  virtuous  citizens  whose  lives  have  been  wantonly 
destroyed  —  by  every  thing  that  a  freeman  holds  dear,  —  never  to  be  at 
peace  with  those  fiends  the  Refugees,  whose  thefts,  murders,  and  trea- 
sons have  filled  the  cup  of  wo  ;  but  show  the  world  that  we  prefer  war, 
with  all  its  direful  calamities,  to  giving  those  fell  destroyers  of  the 
human  species  a  residence  among  us.  We  have  crimsoned  the  earth 
with  our  blood  to  purchase  peace,  —  therefore  are  detennined  to  enjoy 
harmony,  uninterrupted  with  the  contaminating  breath  of  a  Tory. 

When  Adams  h  Nourse  took  possession  of  the  Chron- 
icle, in  1783,  they  published  a  very  short  address  to  the 
VOL.   I,  22 


254  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

public,  soliciting  a  continuance  "  of  such  speculations, 
as  shall  be  adapted  to  promote  the  liberty  of  our  country, 
and  the  general  welfare  of  mankind."  With  many  oth- 
ers, they  took  a  decided  stand  against  the  Society  of 
Cincinnati.  One  of  their  correspondents  said,  March, 
1784,  —  "The  institution  of  Cincinnati  is  concerted  to 
establish  a  complete  and  perpetual  personal  distinction 
between  the  numerous  military  dignitaries  of  their  cor- 
poration and  the  whole  remaining  body  of  the  people, 
who  will  be  styled  Plebeians  through  the  community." 
In  a  note  on  this  article  the  editors  said,  —  "  If  the  order 
of  Cincinnati  should  appear  to  be  fraught  with  danger  to 
the  exalted  rights  of  human  nature,  tending  rapidly  to 
the  introduction  of  an  American  nobility,  as  has  been 
publicly  affirmed,  and  not  gainsaid,  —  such  a  military 
nobility,  as  plagued  and  domineered  over  Europe  for 
centuries, — or  if  it  tends  to  introduce  even  the  mildest 
nobility,  since  nobility  itself  is  reprobated  by  these  con- 
federated republican  states,  is  it  not  the  duty  of  legislat- 
ors, governors,  and  magistrates,  and  their  Electors, 
by  all  judicious  and  proper  means  in  their  power,  to 
prevent  such  an  institution  from  acquiring  any  degree  of 
strength  or  influence  in  this  free  commonwealth  ?  * 

In  the  course  of  this  year,  Adams  St  Nourse  were 
appointed  "  Printers  to  the  General  Court,"  and  the 
Chronicle  became  the  official  paper  of  the  government. 
Some  typographical  improvements  were  made;  and  the 
old  device,  at  the  head,  gave  place  to  a  new  one,  which, 
with  the  explanation  given  of  it,  in  the  technical  lan- 
guage of  the  sublime  science  of  heraldry,  here  follows  :  — 

*  In  1784,  llie  tiiwn  of  Cambridge,  liy  a  formal  vote  in  town-meeting,  instructed 
iheir  representative  in  the  General  Court  to  use  liis  endeavors  to  cause  the  Society 
of  Cincinnati  to  be  sui)presscd. 


ADAMS    AND    NOURSE. 


255 


Explanation  of  the  Device  for  the  Arms  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  Massachusetts. 

SAPPHIRE,  an  Indian  di-essed  in  his  Shirt  and  Mogginsins,  belted 
proper ;  in  his  right  Hand  a  Bow,  Topaz  ;  in  his  left  an  Arrow,  its 
Point  towards  the  Base  of  the  Second ;  on  the  dexter  side  of  the 
Indian's  Head,  a  Star,  Pearl,  for  one  of  the  United  States  of  America: 
Crest,  on  a  Wreath  a  dexter  Arm,  cloathcd  and  ruffled  proper,  grasp- 
ing a  broad  Sword,  the  Pummel  and  Hilt  Topaz,  with  this  motto, 
Ense petit  placidam  sub  Libertate  Quietem. 

At  the  same  time,  the  motto,  — "  Truth  its  guide, 
Liberty  its  object,"  —  was  adopted,  and  continued  as 
long  as  the  paper  was  pubHshed. 

The  Chronicle  now  assumed  an  important  stand,  both 
as  a  pohtical  and  commercial  journal.  Parties  had  not 
then  taken  the  names,  by  which  they  were  afterwards 
distinctly  known,  nor  had  the  people  in  general  adopted 
the  peculiar  principles,  partialities,  and  prejudices,  which 
afterwards  constituted  the  creeds  of  the  two  great  an- 
tagonistic divisions  of  Republicans  and  Federalists. 
But  it  is  easy  to  perceive,  in  the  columns  of  the  Chron- 
icle, that  its  editors  and  correspondents  had  a  strong  and 
emphatic  affection  for  France,  as  the  ally  and  friend  of 


256  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

America,  and  an  equally  forcible  and  overpowering 
hatred  of  Great-Britain.  It  was  not,  however,  till  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  adopted,  and  the 
Federal  Government  began  its  operations,  that  the  divid- 
ing line  was  distinctly  drawn,  and  every  man's  political 
allegiance  was  known  from  the  plainness  and  freedom 
with  which  he  avowed  his  opinions  concerning  the  con- 
duct of  those  two  foreign  powei"s,  and  his  character,  as  a 
Federalist  or  Republican,  was  determined  accordingly. 

The  partnership  of  Adams  Si  Nourse  continued  till 
January,  1790,  when  it  was  dissolved  by  the  death  of 
Nourse.  Adams  continued  the  publication  of  the  Cin-on- 
icle,  as  sole  editor  and  proprietor,  till  some  time  in  1793, 
when  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Isaac  Larkin.  From 
this  time  the  Chronicle  was  published  twice  a  week,  on 
Monday  and  Thursday,  and  was  the  second  semi-weekly 
paper  published  in  New-England.  The  partnership  of 
Adams  &t  Larkin  was  dissolved  by  the  death  of  Larkin, 
in  December,  1797,  and  Adams  was  again  left  as  the 
only  known  proprietor  and  editor  of  the  paper.  Larkin 
was  born  in  Charlestown,  and  was  educated  to  the  pro- 
fession of  a  printer.  He  was  a  brother  of  Ebenezer 
Larkin,  a  respectable  publisher  and  bookseller  in  Boston. 
His  character  was  that  of  an  amiable  and  intelligent 
gentleman,  a  good  printer,  and  a  faithful  friend. 

In  1798,  the  editor  of  the  Chronicle  and  his  corre- 
spondents opposed  with  great  vehemence  the  "alien  and 
sedition  laws,"  so  called,  passed,  during  that  year,  by 
Congress,  in  consequence  of  which  the  editor  was  pros- 
ecuted, under  the  provisions  of  the  sedition  act,  and 
arraigned  before  the  Federal  Circuit  Court,  charged 
with  sundry  libelous  and  seditious  publications.     In  an- 


THOMAS    ADAMS.  257 

nouncing  the  fact,  Mr.  Adams  said,  —  "  Every  remark 
on  this  important  business  will  be  deferred,  till  after  the 
trial,  finding  ourselves  too  independent  in  principle  to 
attempt  to  prepossess  the  public  mind  on  this  interesting 
question.  The  citizens  of  the  United  States  may  rest 
assured  that  the  Chronicle,  ever  attached  to  a  republican 
system  of  government,  will  always  support  the  Rights 
OF  THE  People,  agreeably  to  the  sacred  Charter  of  the 
Constitution."  The  arraignment  of  the  editor  was  at 
the  session  of  the  Court  in  October,  1798  ;  the  trial 
was  continued  to  the  next  term,  to  be  held  in  June, 
1799.     The  result  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1799,  certain  resolutions 
of  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  denying  the  constitution- 
ality of  the  alien  and  sedition  laws,  which  had  been 
passed  by  Congress  the  preceding  year,  were  transmitted 
to  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  and  by  him  laid  be- 
fore the  Legislature  for  its  action.  The  Chronicle  had 
taken  a  determined  stand  against  both  these  laws,  and 
was  bold  and  vehement  in  its  opposition.  The  Legis- 
lature passed  a  "  declaration,"  prepared  by  a  joint  com- 
mittee, affirming  the  constitutionality  of  the  laws,  and, 
of  course,  disapproving  of  the  Virginia  Resolutions. 
This  official  declaration  was  published  in  the  Chronicle 
of  February  18.  In  the  same  paper,  in  the  editorial 
department,  appeared  the  following  article  :  — 

Historical  Facts.  A  correspondent  observes,  that,  on  the  last 
Wednesday  in  May,  1798,  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  was  a 
"yj-ef,  sovereign,  and  independent  State,  in  all  matters  not  specially  com- 
mitted to  the  Continental  Government ;  and,  in  proof  of  it,  appeals  to 
the  affidavits  of  about  two  hundred  respectable  witnesses,  who  made 
oath  to  the  fact,  as  well  as  to  the  opinion  that  the  Commonwealth 
"  ought  to  be  "  so,  in  order  to  the  admission  of  the  witnesses  to  a  seat 
in  the  Legislature  of  the  Commonwealth. 
22* 


258  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

A  question  being  started  by  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  whether  the 
sovereignty  of  the  individual  states  was  not  invaded  by  certain  acts  of 
Congress,  which  the  state  of  Virginia  deems  unconstitutional ;  a  ma- 
jority of  the  same  witnesses,  quoted  in  tlie  preceding  paragraph,  dis- 
claim for  themselves,  as  members  of  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts, 
and  deny  to  all  other  States  in  the  Union,  any  rigJit  to  decide  on  the  con- 
stitutionality of  any  acts  of  Congress. 

As  it  is  difficult  for  common  capacities  to  conceive  of  a  sovereignty  so 
situated  that  the  sovereign  shall  have  no  right  to  decide  on  any  invasion  of 
his  const itutimial  powers,  it  is  hoped,  for  the  convenience  of  those  tender 
consciences,  who  may  hereafter  be  called  upon  to  swear  allegiance  to 
the  State,  that  some  gentleman,  skilled  in  Federal  logic,  will  show  how 
the  oath  of  allegiance  is  to  be  understood,  that  every  man  may  be  so 
guarded  and  informed,  as  not  to  incite  the  Deity  to  witness  a  falsehood. 

In  the  same  paper  was  the  following,  alluding  to  the 
speech  of  one  of  the  Senators  from  Berkshire  :  — 

l\Ir.  Bacon's  speech  in  the  Massachusetts  Senate,  on  the  Virginia 
Resolutions,  has  been  read  Math  delight  by  all  true  Eepublicans,  and 
will  always  stand  as  a  monument  of  his  firmness,  patriotism,  and  integ- 
rity. The  following  lines  of  the  Jacobin  Milton  come  near  to  the 
point :  — 

" So  spake  the  Senator,  faithful  found 

Among  the  faithless,  faithful  only  he  ; 

Among  innumerable  false  unmoved, 

Unshaken,  unseduced,  uiiterrified ; 

Nor  number  nor  example  with  him  wrought 

To  swerve  from  truth,  or  change  his  constant  mind, 

Though  single." 

These  articles  were  viewed  as  libels  on  the  Legisla- 
ture, and  the  Grand  Jury  for  the  county  of  Suffolk  found 
a  bill  of  indictment  against  Abijah  Adams,*  the  person 
employed  as  clerk  and  book-keeper  in  the  office  of  the 
Chronicle.  The  trial  came  on  before  the  Supreme 
Court,  on  the  first  of  March.  It  was  conducted  by  the 
attorney-general  for  the  Commonwealth,  James  Sullivan, 

*  It  does  not  appear  that  Thomas  Adams,  who  was  the  editor  and  ostensibly  the 
proprietor  of  the  Chronicle,  was  indicted  for  this  libel.  I  have  not  been  able  to 
obtain  any  explanation  of  this  singular  fact. 


THOMAS    ADAMS.  259 

who  zealously  upheld  the  doctrine  of  libels  according 
to  the  common  law  of  England.  The  doctrine  was 
agreed  to  by  the  court.  Benjamin  Whitman  and  George 
Blake,  in  behalf  of  the  defendant,  contended  that  the 
common  law  was  inconsistent  with  the  republican  prin- 
ciples avowed  in  the  constitution  of  Massachusetts,  and 
inapplicable  to  the  nature  and  genius  of  the  government. 
The  evidence  fully  proved  that  Adams  was  the  book- 
keeper for  the  editor,  and  generally  delivered  out  the 
papers  to  the  customers.  The  plea  urged  by  the  prose- 
cutor was,  that,  as  he  delivered  the  papers,  he  was  so 
far  the  principal,  and  guilty  of  publishing.  The  jury 
returned  a  verdict  in  these  express  words,  That  Mr. 
Abijah  Adams  ivas  guilty  of  publishing  only  ;  —  which 
under  the  direction  of  the  Court  was  reduced  to  the 
customary  form.  Mr.  Adams  was  sentenced  to  thirty 
days  imprisonment  in  the  county  gaol,  to  pay  the  costs 
of  prosecution,  and  to  find  sureties,  in  the  sum  of  five 
hundred  dollars,  for  his  good  behavior  for  one  year.  He 
was  immediately  taken  to  the  gaol,  and  passed  the  period 
of  his  imprisonment  "with  that  resignation  and  fortitude, 
which  becomes  a  man  who  can  appeal  to  his  conscience 
for  the  rectitude  of  his  conduct." 

The  paper  which  announces  the  imprisonment  of  Mr. 
Adams,  says,  —  "  CU='  The  Patrons  of  the  Chronicle 
may  still  depend  on  the  regular  supply  of  their  papers. 
The  Editor  is  on  the  bed  of  languishment,  and  the  Book- 
keeper in  prison,  yet  the  cause  of  liberty  will  be  sup- 
ported amid  these  distressing  circumstances."  During 
the  confinement  of  Mr.  Adams,  he  was  visited  by  many 
respectable  citizens,  who  felt  an  interest  for  the  cause, 
in  which  he  suffered ;  and  among  them  was  the  venera- 


260  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

ble  proscribed  patriot,  Samuel  Adams.  He  was  dis- 
charged from  prison  on  the  24th  of  April,  and,  in  the 
Chronicle  of  the  next  day,  returned  "  liis  thanks  to  his 
numerous  friends  for  their  attention  and  kindness  to  him 
during  his  confinement ; "  and  assured  them  "  that  the 
Liberties  and  Constitution  of  the  country  would  ever  be 
the  objects  contemplated  in  the  prosecution  of  the  Chron- 
icle." His  release  from  prison  was  announced,  editori- 
ally, as  follows :  — 

Yesterday  ]Mr.  Abijali  Adams  was  discharged  from  his  imprisonment, 
after  partaking  of  an  adequate  proportion  of  his  "  hb-th-right"  by  a  con- 
finement of  thirty  days  under  the  operation  of  the  Common  Law  of 
England* 

An  elaborate  review  of  the  trial  of  Mr.  Adams,  em- 
bracing arguments  in  opposition  to  the  principles  laid 
down  by  the  Court,  —  written,  it  has  been  said,  by  Mr. 
George  Blake,  —  was  published  in  the  Chronicle,  occu- 
pying several  columns  of  each  successive  publication, 
from  the  eighth  to  the  twenty-ninth  of  April,  inclusive. 

Thomas  Adams,  the  editor  and  proprietor  of  the 
Chronicle,  had  long  been  laboring  under  severe  indispo- 
sition, and  such  was  the  nature  of  his  physical  disorder, 
that  he  relinquished  all  hope  of  recovery,  and,  on  the 
first  of  May,  1799,  disposed  of  all  his  interest  in  the 
Chronicle,  to  James  White,  a  respectable  and  well  known 
bookseller,  whose  store  was  in  the  same  building  with 
the  Chronicle  office,  and  was  for  many  years  designated, 
—  and  is  still  remembered  by  many, — by  the  sign  of 
"  Franklin's  Head."  In  announcing  his  proprietorship, 
Mr.  White  (who  was  a  Federalist)  said,  —  he  would 
"  aim  to  have  the  paper  conducted  with  decency  and 

♦Judge  Dana,  in  his  charge  to  the  jury,  pronounceJ  the  common  law  of  England 
to  be  the  birth-right  of  every  American. 


EBENEZER   RHOADES.  261 

fairness  "  —  that  "  without  making  pompous  promises 
for  the  variety  and  excellence  of  matter  "  it  should  con- 
tain, he  would  "  leave  it  with  the  public  to  determine 
whether  '  Truth  is  its  guide  and  Liberty  its  object,'  and 
to  give  it  such  support  as  it  may  justly  merit." 

Ebenezer  Rhoades,  a  young  man,  who  served  an 
apprenticeship  with  Samuel  Hall,  and  who  had  been 
employed  as  foreman,  by  Thomas  Adams  during  his 
sickness,  was  engaged  as  the  editor  and  printer  of  the 
Chronicle  for  the  new  proprietor,  Mr.  White.  He 
opened  his  career  in  this  new  responsibility,  with  an  Ad- 
dress to  the  Patrons  of  the  Chronicle,  from  which  the 
following  is  an  extract :  — 

The  great  first  principles  of  civil  liberty  are,  that  all  legislative  power 
proceeds  from  the  people ;  —  that  they  have  a  right  to  inquire  into 
the  official  conduct  of  their  substitutes,  the  rulers ;  —  to  censure  public 
measui-es  when  found  to  be  wi-ong,  and  to  use  constitutional  means  to 
remove  those,  who  violate  the  confidence  reposed  in  them.  These  prin- 
ciples require,  that  there  should  be  a  public  and  free  examination  of 
tlie  doings  of  the  government.  Information  on  these  subjects  cannot 
be  generally  disseminated,  but  through  the  medium  of  newspapers.  It 
is,  therefore,  necessary  to  the  existence  of  civil  liberty,  that  these  should 
be  open  to  \\Titers,  who  discuss  freely  public  measures,  and  even  cen- 
sure them  whei»  faulty.  Under  this  impression,  the  editor  solicits  his 
republican  friends  to  enrich  the  Chronicle  with  remarks  on  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  government  of  our  countiy.  It  is  pi-esumed  the  friends 
of  the  present  system  will  not  object  to  this.  It  is  certain  they  ought 
not  to  do  so ;  for  poor  indeed  must  that  cause  be,  which  cannot  bear  an 
examination.  As  long  as  truth  and  decency  are  not  violated  —  and 
these  shall  ever  be  held  most  sacred  —  the  editor  will  not  fear  the  noisy 
railings  of  zealots  in  party,  who  wish  to  deprive  their  antagonists  of  a 
fair  hearing.  On  tlie  contrary,  as  the  i'eople  ai-e  to  exercise  their  sove- 
reignty in  judging  the  conduct  of  their  rulers,  he  will  never  lead  them 
to  condemn  without  a  fair  hearing ;  and  giving  full  opportunity  to  all 
of  defending  the  conduct  of  the  administration  before  the  impartial  and 
just  tribunal  of  public  opinion.  Pieces  written  in  justification  of  the 
government,  therefore,  will  not  be  refused  admittance.  It  is  hoped, 
however,  that  such  pieces  vnR  contain  reasoning  instead  of  invective ; 


262  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

and  will  answer  the  objections  made  against  the  administration,  rather 
than  exclaim  Jacobin  and  Traitor.  In  short,  it  is  the  intent  of  the  editor 
to  belong  to  no  party ;  to  content  himself  with  doing  the  duties  of  an 
editor,  without  abusing  the  public,  by  garbling  and  misrepresenting  for 
party  purposes.  Men  of  opi)Osite  opinions  may  here  express  them,  and 
the  public  shall  weigh  their  merits.  By  hearing  both  sides,  the  people 
will  be  able  to  get  at  the  tnith,  and  form  a  righteous  judgement. 

With  respect  to  intelligence,  the  editor  can  only  pledge  himself  for 
diligence,  and  presenting  facts  impartially  to  the  public,  as  early  as 
possible.  He  will  aim  to  state,  truly,  the  interesting  events  of  Europe, 
whether  they  enliven  or  blast  the  laurels  of  France  or  of  Britain.  The 
American  mind  is  to  be  informed  of  facts,  and  not  to  be  deluded  by  fic- 
tion. If  victory  shall  continue  still  constant  to  the  French,  and  mon- 
archies be  still  changed  to  republics,  the  advocates  for  kingly  power 
ought  not  to  censure  the  newspaper  that  informs  them  of  it ;  and  if  the 
British  lion  is  again  to  become  rampant,  and  disquiet  the  world  with 
his  roarings,  those,  who  have  depended  on  seeing  mankind  enlightened 
and  enfranchised  by  the  French  Revolution,  ought  to  receive  the  story 
of  their  disappointment  with  the  magnanimity  of  patriotism,  and  not 
criminate  the  newspaper  which  publishes  it. 

Tlie  paper,  which  contained  this  address  of  the  new 
editor,  announced  the  death  of  "  Capt.  Thomas  Adams, 
late  editor  of  the  Chronicle,  in  the  forty-second  year  of 
his  age."  During  his  confinement,  and  at  his  death, 
Mr.  Adams  was  under  bonds  to  appear  at  the  United 
States  Court,  then  to  be  held  in  June,  to  answer  for 
certain  publications,  that  were  made  while  he  was  con- 
fined to  his  sick  room.  A  few  days  before  his  death,  a 
physician,  appointed  by  the  Court  and  accompanied  by 
an  officer,  to  examine  into  the  state  of  his  health,  reported 
that  his  condition  would  not  admit  of  his  appearance  in 
Court.  Heaven  canceled  the  obligation  and  removed 
him  from  all  responsibility  to  earthly  tribunals.  "  The 
character  of  Mr.  Adams,  notwithstanding  the  malignity 
of  party  spirit,  could  never  be  impeached.  His  honor 
and  integrity,  benevolence  and  affability,  as  a  citizen  and 
friend,  were  never  called  in  question  by  the  most  impla- 


JAMES    WHITE.  263 

cable  of  his  enemies.  Some,  who  had  experienced  his 
charity,  may  have  demonstrated  their  ingratitude  by  their 
subsequent  conduct,  but,  as  a  Christian  and  a  brother, 
he  forgave  tiiem.  During  his  confinement,  he  ever  ex- 
pressed his  warm  attachment  to  the  Hberties  of  his  coun- 
try. The  principles  advocated  in  the  Chronicle  he  often 
dwelt  upon  with  the  most  pleasing  satisfaction,  and 
seemed  to  feel  a  consolation  in  his  dying  moments,  that 
his  Press  had  been  devoted  to  the  propagation  of  those 
sentiments,  which  had  a  tendency  to  promote  the  bless- 
ings of  peace  and  independence."  * 

The  connection  of  Mr.  White  with  the  Chronicle 
continued  only  one  year.  On  relinquishing  the  proprie- 
torship, in  May,  1800,  he  explained  to  the  public  the 
nature  and  cause  of  his  connection  with  the  paper,  in  an 
Address,  which  for  its  candor  and  frankness,  and  the 
pleasant  style,  characteristic  of  the  author's  general  good 
nature  and  gentlemanly  deportment  in  all  his  transac- 
tions, is  worth  transcribing  :  — 

When  the  subscriber  became  the  proprietor  of  the  Independent 
Chronicle,  he  had  two  inducements  to  make  the  purchase.  One,  That 
the  late  proprietor,  who  was  anxious  for  the  future  wellfare  of  his  fam- 
ily, might  ascertain  the  situation,  in  which  he  should  leave  them.  The 
other  —  That  the  paper  should  be  earned  on  so  impartially  as  that  men 
of  opposite  opinions  might  have  an  opportunity  of  expressing  them; 
and  the  public  be  enabled  to  decide  upon  their  merits.  With  these 
views  the  purchase  was  made.  But  many,  who  approved  of  them, 
doubted  whether  a  paper  could  be  supported  upon  the  plan  suggested. 
However  difficult  or  novel  it  might  appear,  believing  the  principle  just, 
the  subscriber  was  determined  to  make  the  attempt,  and  hazard  the 
issue.  He  engaged  Mr.  Ehoades  as  publisher,  and  enjoined  on  him  a 
strict  adherence  to  the  plan  ;  —  which  was  to  give  intelligence  as  he  re- 
ceived it,  and  not  to  abuse  the  public  by  garbling  and  misrepresenting 
for  party  purposes  ;  to  endeavor,  in  the  strictest  sense,  to  make  "  Truth 

♦Independent  Chronicle,  May  16,  1799. 


264  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

his  Guide,"  and  not  to  violate  it  to  oblige,  nor  -withhold  it  through  fear  of 
offending,  anyone:  —  to  support  acts  of  justice,  and  rcprol)atc  eveiy 
unjust  measure,  without  regarding  the  individual  or  nation,  from  whom 
it  might  proceed  —  not  to  become  the  tool  of  domestic  or  foreign,  but 
to  endeavor  to  harmonize  and  make  every  American  a  friend  to  his  own, 
country.  To  this  manner  of  conducting  a  paper  no  objection  could  l)c 
made ;  for,  if  it  did  not  succeed,  no  loss  could  accrue  to  the  Printer,  as 
the  expenses  were  entirely  at  the  risk  of,  and  paid  by,  the  Proprietor. 
A  paper  like  this,  must,  from  the  nature  of  it,  contain  various  senti- 
ments ;  but  when  any  have  advanced  opinions  contrary  to  tliose  of  oth- 
ers, it  has  been  open  for  ^\Titers  on  both  sides  to  discuss  the  subject 
fairly.  If  any  have  neglected  the  opportunity,  it  is  their  own  fault,  and 
the  Editor  ought  not  to  be  censured  :  he  made  the  paper  free  ground  for 
those  who  chose  to  advance  with  small  arms,  or  more  weighty  pieces. 
The  parties  engaged  have  sometimes  been  bomb-proof,  although  at- 
tacked with  solid  arguments.  They  have  often  smoked  their  antag- 
onists — have  frequently  made  random  shots  —  and  sometimes  true  fires. 
Some  of  the  pieces  have  been  raised  rather  too  high,  and  now  and  then, 
either  bj'  frequent  firing  or  bad  ammunition,  have  become  a  little  foul, 
and  required  sponging  before  they  could  be  brought  into  fair  action. 

One  year  has  now  elapsed,  since  Mr.  Rhoadcs  undertook  to  publish 
the  Chronicle  on  this  impartial  plan.  The  experiment  has  been  fairly 
tried  and  has  so  far  succeeded,  as  to  have  obtained  a  respectable  list  of 
subscribers,  fully  sufficient  to  make  it  an  object  to  continue  it ;  but  the 
profits  not  being  the  principal  object  of  the  Subscriber  in  becoming  the 
Proprietor,  and  his  engagements  in  Imsiness  being  such  as  makes  it  not 
only  very  inconvenient,  but  out  of  his  power  to  pay  attention  to  a  paper, 
he  has  for  some  time  detcnnincd  to  dispose  of  the  property,  whenever 
he  could  realize  the  first  cost,  and  find  a  purchaser,  who  would  under- 
take to  conduct  the  press  on  the  present  plan.  With  this  intention,  Mr. 
Eben.  Khoades  and  Mr.  Abijah  Adams  have  made  the  purcliase,  and 
become  the  Proprietors.  The  next  pajier  will  be  published  by  and  for 
them.  Mr.  Adams  has  been  in  the  office  for  ten  years.  Mr.  Ehoades 
has  been  the  Editor  for  twelve  months.  They  well  know  the  reception 
the  paper  has  met  with  at  diilcreut  periods,  and  can  judge  of  the  effects 
both  of  Good  Custom  and  Common  Law ;  and  certainly  will  find  it  for 
their  interest  to  secure  the  one  and  avoid  the  other.  It  is  therefore  pre- 
sumed that  they  will  continue  to  be  impartial ;  to  merit  and  receive  the 
support  of  the  present  customers.        .  .  J.  WHITE. 

The  next  number  of  the  Chronicle  contained  the 
salutatory  address  of  the  new  proprietors,  —  written  with 


ABIJAH    ADAMS. 


2^ 


commendable  brevity.  After  declaring  that,  "with  as 
much  correctness  as  they  are  able  to  command  "  in  the 
management  of  the  paper  "  Truth  shall  still  be  its  Guide, 
Liberty  its  Object,"  they  add  the  following  sentiments 
with  marks  of  quotation  :  — "  Every  departure  from 
truth  is  pernicious.  Impartiality  should  be  a  perpetual 
attribute  of  the  press.  Neither  fear  on  the  one  side, 
nor  the  hojje  of  reward  on  the  other,  should  intimidate  or 
influence  its  inquiries.  It  should  neither  be  bribed  to 
lavish  unmerited  applause,  nor  menaced  into  silence. 
The  usefulness  of  periodical  publications  depends  upon 
their  steady  adherence  to  rectitude.  The  moment  cor- 
rupt or  foreign  considerations  are  suffered  to  bias  or  stain 
their  pages,  they  become  injurious  to  the  general  interests 
of  society." 

Abijah  Adams  died  on  the  18th  of  May,  1816,  aged 
sixty -two  years.  He  was  a  native  of  Boston,  and  was  bred 
to  the  trade  of  a  tailor  —  a  business,  which  he  could  not 
have  pursued  many  years,  as  he  was  a  clerk  in  the 
Chronicle  office  some  time  before  the  death  of  his  brother, 
Thomas  Adams.  The  following  obituary  notice,  from 
the  Chronicle,  probably  does  no  more  than  justice  to  his 
character : — 

On  his  sepulchre  may  be  inscribctl,  Uere  lie  the  remains  of  an  honest 
man.  In  the  present  state  of  society  it  is  not  from  "  high  life  "  that 
"high  characters  are  drawn."  The  man,  who  discharges  his  duty  as  a 
patriot,  a  parent,  and  a  friend,  is  entitled  to  a  euloginm.  Mr.  Adams,  in 
domestic  life, was  exemplary;  in  his  friendship, undcviatiiig ;  and,  as  a 
member  of  society,  possessed  those  amiable  qualities,  which  must  ever 
endear  him  in  the  memory  of  his  fellow-citizens.  Mr.  Adams,  for  many 
years,  had  been  the  senior  editor  of  the  Chronicle,  and  was  ever  de- 
sirous to  conduct  liis  paper  with  that  propriety,  which  the  tongue  of 
calumny  cannot  depreciate,  though  often  aimed  to  detract.  He  was 
not  so  much  concerned  in  the  editorial  department,  as  to  make  him 
responsible  for  every  publication  ollercd  him ;  he  pursued  his  business 

23 


266  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

with  that  circumspection  as  not  to  excite  party  prejudices,  but  to  give 
publicity  to  principles  calculated  to  elucidate  political  subjects,  as  they 
occasionally  rose  in  our  national  controversies.  Examination  was  the 
object  contemplated,  and  though  he  frequently  suflered  persecution  as 
an  editor,  yet  the  energies  of  his  pursuits  never  failed  him.  He  sus- 
tained his  misfortunes  with  a  dignity  becoming  a  Chi'istian  and  a 
patriot. 

After  the  death  of  Adams,  the  paper  was  carried  on 
by  the  surviving  partner  for  himself  and  the  heirs  of 
Adams,  till  the  summer  of  1819,  when  the  Chronicle 
was  sold  to  Davis  C.  Ballard,  (a  son  of  Mrs.  Adams 
by  a  previous  marriage)  and  Edmund  Wright,  Jun.  pub- 
lishers and  editors  of  the  Boston  Patriot.  It  was  united 
with  that  paper,  and  thenceforth  ceased  to  exist  as  a 
separate  publication. 

Ebenezer  Rhoades  was  a  native  of  Boston,  the  son 
of  Jacob  Rhoades,  long  known  and  celebrated  as  a  ship- 
builder. He  served  an  apprenticeship  as  a  printer  with 
Samuel  Hall.  Though  connected  with  a  paper,  which 
often  poured  out  gall  and  wormwood  on  its  political  op- 
ponents, his  deportment  in  private  life  was  remarkable 
for  its  suavity  and  gentleness ;  and,  in  his  social  inter- 
course, he  knew  no  difference  between  a  Republican  and 
a  Federalist.  He  died  in  August,  1819,  about  a  year 
after  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  Chronicle.  The  follow- 
ing lines,  which  appeared  in  the  Chronicle  and  Patriot, 
present  a  well-deserved  tribute  to  his  memory :  — 

If  for  the  hero  tears  are  shed, 

And  laurels  spring  above  his  head. 

Who  sought,  through  blood,  a  deathless  name, 

And  sacrificed  his  life  to  Fame  — 

For  thee  shall  fairer  flowerets  bloom, 

And  shed  their  incense  on  thy  tomb, 

Friendship  shall  cull  the  unfading  wreath, 

For  him  who  sleeps  in  peace  beneath — 


EBENEZER    RHOADES.  267 

While  weeping  Love,  with  mournful  grace, 
Shall  there  the  hallowed  token  place, 
And  o'er  the  humble  mound  shall  bend, 
To  mourn  the  husband,  parent,  friend. 

Ere  jet  had  gently  closed  thine  eyes, 
Ere  yet  thy  spirit  sought  the  skies, 
Full  many  a  heart,  with  feeling  fraught, 
On  thee  had  turned  the  anxious  thought. 
And,  as  was  breathed  the  silent  prayer, 
It  found  in  Heaven  a  record  there. 

Now  peals  the  deep-toued  funeral  knell !  — 

'Tis  done!  —  Lamented  shade,  fakewell! 

That  soul  which  cheered  us  while  on  eai'th. 

Springs  to  the  region  of  its  birth  — 

Its  path  of  duty,  faithful  trod. 

Shines  in  the  Paradise  of  God.  Lothair. 

For  a  period  of  near  thirty  years,  the  Chronicle  was 
the  principal  organ,  in  New-England,  of  a  large  and 
powerful  political  party.  Of  this  party,  the  great  orig- 
inal, head,  and  leader  in  the  Union,  was  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son. In  the  foremost  rank  in  the  party  in  Massachu- 
setts, stood  that  unwavering  and  consistent  patriot,  Sam- 
uel Adams.  After  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war, 
many  of  those,  who  had  been  the  correspondents  of  the 
Chronicle,  discontinued  their  contributions,  and  for  three 
or  four  years  the  paper  was  almost  barren  of  original 
discussion  upon  political  affairs.  When,  from  experience, 
the  people  discovered  the  fact  that  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation of  the  United  Colonies  but  imperfectly  an- 
swered the  purposes  of  a  permanent  government  for  the 
Union,  and  the  idea  of  forming  a  Constitution  began  to 
assume  an  interesting  aspect,  one  of  the  most  popular 
and  influential  writers,  which,  after  Otis,  Adams,  and 
Quincy,  —  had  undertaken  to  direct  the  public  mind, 
chose  the  Chronicle  as  the  vehicle  of  his  political  com- 


268  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

munications.  Of  this  writer,  who  filled  so  large  a  space 
in  the  public  vision,  and  who  probably  wrote  more  for 
the  newspapers  than  any  other  man,  not  an  editor  or 
proprietor  of  a  paper,  it  seems  to  be  proper  to  give 
something  more  than  a  mere  passing  mention  of  his 
name. 

Benjamin  Austin,  Jun.  was  born  in  Boston  in  the 
year  1752.  He  was  the  youngest  son  of  Benjamin 
Austin,  and  was  connected,  on  the  mother's  side,  with 
the  Waldo  family,  —  formerly  among  the  most  influential 
and  wealthy  merchants  of  the  province. 

Benjamin,  the  father,  was  one  of  the  firm  of  Box  & 
Austin,  doing  business  largely  as  merchants,  especially 
in  the  importation  of  cordage,  and  other  articles  for  pur- 
poses of  navigation,  most  of  which  were  then  procured 
from  abroad.  He  had  enjoyed  good  opportunities  for 
education,  had  visited  England  in  his  younger  days  with 
uncommon  advantages,  had  been  there  introduced  to  the 
early  friends  of  America,  and  had  brought  home  and  re- 
tained those  principles  of  freedom  and  civil  liberty, 
which  form  so  conspicuous  a  feature  in  the  writings  of 
his  son.  He  took  an  active  part  in  public  afiairs  ;  -^- 
was  repeatedly  a  member  of  the  executive  council  of 
the  province,  until  negatived  by  the  Governor; — was 
one  of  the  selectmen  of  the  town  of  Boston,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  siege,  —  and  suffered  severely 
in  his  property,  during  the  military  occupation  of  the 
town.  He  died  on  the  14th  of  March,  1806,  in  the 
ninetieth  year  of  his  age.  Some  there  are,  who  still 
remember  him  as  one  of  the  Patriarchs  of  the  ante- 
revolutionary  age,  all  of  whom  have  disappeared  under 
the  inexorable  decrees  of  Time.     His  upright  and  ven- 


BENJAMIN  AUSTIN,    JUN.  269 

erable  form,  the  large  white  wig,  scarlet  roquelot,  and 
gold-headed  cane,  were  the  personification  of  the  man- 
ners and  dress  of  a  period  in  our  history  as  a  people, 
which  may  be  studied  with  profit  and  satisfaction. 

Benjamin,  the  son,  had  no  other  education  than  such 
as  was  to  be  acquired  in  the  public  and  private  institu- 
tions of  the  town,  which,  even  then,  were  not  without 
distinction.  After  the  preliminary  studies,  which  these 
schools  enabled  him  to  procure,  he  was  placed  in  the 
mercantile  establishment  of  his  uncles,  the  Waldos,  and 
remained  with  them  during  the  usual  term  of  appren- 
ticeship. In  their  service  he  was  also  occupied  some  time 
afterwards,  and  in  the  mean  time,  he  made  one  or  more 
voyages  to  Europe  and  the  West-Indies.  It  was  during 
his  connection  with  the  Waldos,  that  he  made  his  first 
attempt  as  a  political  writer.  The  act  of  Parliament,  of 
1767,  imposing  taxes  on  the  Colonies,  struck  directly 
upon  the  business,  in  which  those  gentlemen  were  en- 
gaged. In  the  year  following,  the  act  was  carried  into 
operation  in  the  case  of  a  vessel  belonging  to  Mr. 
Hancock,  on  which  occasion  the  public  mind  was  strongly 
excited,  and  the  persons  of  the  officers  of  the  crown 
were  assaulted,  and  their  property  destroyed.  Soon 
afterwards,  two  regiments  of  British  soldiers  arrived  and 
were  encamped  in  the  town. 

During  the  excitement  of  this  period,  an  article  ap- 
peared in  one  of  the  newspapers,  which  attracted  the 
attention  of  Samuel  Adams,  and  his  associates,  who  held 
frequent  meetings  in  a  small  wooden  building  in  Milk- 
street,  then  occupied  by  Samuel  Shed.  Mr.  Shed  kept 
a  respectable  grocery  store  in  the  front  and  lived  with  his 
family  in  the  rear.  His  inner  parlor  was  well  known  as 
23* 


270  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

the  place  where  these  leaders  of  the  opposition  to  Brit- 
ish tyranny  congregated.  There  it  was,  that  the  first 
idea  of  Independence  suggested  itself  to  these  men. 
There  it  was,  that  the  freedom  of  the  country  from  the 
British  yoke  was  conceived  by  the  little  band  of  noble 
spirits,  that  boldly  pushed  forward  to  accomplish  it. 

Mr.  Adams  and  his  colleagues  were  astonished  at  the 
energy  and  boldness  of  this  article,  and  wondered  the 
more  that  it  had  been  written  and  published  without 
their  previous  assent.  Who  was  this  new  and  unknown 
ally  ?  They  sent  for  the  printer.  He  was  unable  to  in- 
form them.  He  had  received  it  anonymously,  and  could 
give  no  indication  of  the  author.  It  was  followed  by 
others  of  equal  ability.  But  the  secret,  though  care- 
fully kept  from  the  public,  and  especially  from  the  cus- 
tom-house commissioners,  was  not  long  undiscovered  by 
this  conclave  of  Patriots.  They  soon  ascertained  that 
the  writer  was  Benjamin  Austin,  Jun.  and  under  their 
direction,  the  pen  of  this  young  man  was  repeatedly 
employed  to  aid  their  plans.* 

The  Revolution  broke  up  the  business  of  the  Waldos. 
I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  any  precise  information 
of  Mr.  Austin's  employment  during  the  period,  which 
followed  their  embarrassments,  but  am  inclined  to  believe 
that  he  was  engaged  with  them  in  the  arrangement  and 
settlement  of  their  widely-extended  affairs.  In  1784, 
he  was  in  England,  making  preparations  for  a  mercantile 
partnership    with   his  only   brother,  then   just    formed. 


*  Tliis  anecdote  was  related  by  Jlr.  Austin  himself  to  the  gentleman,  to  wliom 
I  am  indebted  for  it.  I  am  not  able  to  state  in  what  paper  thrse  articles  ap- 
peared,—  though  it  was  doubtless  Edes  &  Gill's  Boston  Gazi'tte,  as  the  other  pub- 
lishers were  extremely  cautious  of  inserting  articles  that  might  subject  them  to 
the  resentment  of  the  officers  of  government. 


BENJAMIN    AUSTIN,    JUN.  271 

under  the  firm  of  Jonathan  L.  &t  Benjamin  Austin,  and 
which  was  continued  through  the  greater  part  of  his  hfe. 
In  addition  to  their  commercial  transactions,  this  firm  was 
engaged  for  some  years  in  the  manufacture  of  cordage, 
having  extensive  works  for  this  pupose,  at  the  foot  of 
Beacon  Hill. 

It  was  soon  after  this,  that  Mr.  Austin  became  a  steady- 
correspondent  of  the  Chronicle.  The  financial  affairs 
of  the  country,  the  embarrassments  of  trade,  the  excess- 
ive importations  of  British  goods  by  British  agents,  and 
many  other  causes  of  public  excitement,  afforded  him 
subjects  for  comment.  While  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  was  a  subject  of  interesting  discussion,  his 
pen  was  not  inactive ;  and  when  that  instrument  was 
submitted  to  the  people  for  their  decision,  he  reviewed 
some  of  its  features,  with  expressions  of  distrust  that 
they  would  prove  too  aristocratical  in  their  results,  and 
lead  to  the  creation  of  privileged  orders,  that  might  be 
destructive  of  the  liberties  of  the  people. 

Mr.  Austin  was  several  times  a  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature, both  as  a  representative  of  the  town  of  Boston, 
and  as  a  Senator  from  the  county  of  Suffolk.  In  1801, 
he  was  appointed  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  then  President  of  the 
United  States,  to  the  office  of  Commissioner  of  Loans,  — 
an  office,  which  he  held  many  years,  and  the  duties  of 
which  he  discharged  with  distinguished  talent  and  fidel- 
ity. He  was  twice  elected  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Selectmen  of  Boston.  It  was  soon  after  his  second 
election  to  that  office,  that  he  died,  on  the  4tli  of  May, 
1820,  in  the  69th  year  of  his  age. 

The  personal  and  private  character  of  Mr.  Austin 
was    much    misunderstood,  —  and,  perhaps,  often  mis- 


272  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

represented,  —  in  consequence  of  the  violent  political 
passions,  which  agitated  the  public  mind,  during  many 
years  of  his  life.  He  was  an  ardent  advocate  of  the 
political  principles  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  a  conscien- 
tious defender  of  popular  rights.  This  attachment  to 
Jefferson  brought  him  in  conflict  with  the  leading  Feder- 
alistsof  his  day,  and  rendered  him  an  object  of  vitupera- 
tion and  wrath.  But,  whatever  may  have  been  said  of 
him,  by  those  who  were  opposed  to  him  in  politics,  and 
however  severely  he  may  have  handled  those,  whom  he 
thought  pursuing  a  course  inconsistent  with  the  honor  and 
prosperity  of  the  country,  he  was  exemplary  in  all  the 
relations  of  social  life,  —  a  good  neighbor,  a  kind  friend, 
a  pleasant  and  agreeable  companion.  He  was  a  man  of 
considerable  wit  and  humor.  Sometimes  he  ridiculed 
his  political  opponents  with  great  effect.  His  conversa- 
tion was  remarkable  for  its  good-natured  tone,  and 
though  his  remarks  were  occasionally  spiced  with  a  little 
sarcasm,  they  were  not  tinctured  with  offensive  bitter- 
ness. He  was  unmercifully  lampooned  in  the  federal 
newspapers,  and  his  personal  appearance  was  carica- 
tured in  a  work  called  a  "  Review  of  the  Jacobiniad." 
But  I  believe  he  never  sought  legal  redress  for  any  of  the 
multifarious  libels,  that  he  endured  from  political  oppo- 
nents. 

The  Chronicle  was  indebted,  mainly,  to  Mr.  Austin 
for  its  influence  and  success.  His  contributions  were 
entirely  gratuitous.  He  lived  at  the  corner  of  Hancock 
and  Cambridge-streets,  and  transacted  business  in  State- 
street  or  on  Long  Wharf.  It  was  his  ordinary  custom, 
while  on  his  way  from  his  residence  to  his  place  of  busi- 
ness, to  stop  at  the  Chronicle  oflice.  —  to  have  a  chat 


BENJAMIN    AUSTIN,    JUN.  273 

with  the  editors,  and  to  write  a  paragraph,  —  perhaps 
an  essay,  —  for  the  paper.  The  office  was  also  fre- 
quented by  several  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  party,  to 
which  he  belonged.  Frequently,  while  they  were  in 
earnest  conversation,  Mr.  Austin  would  write  paragraph 
after  paragraph,  uninterrupted  by  the  conversation  and 
often  joining  in  it.  He  often  wrote  articles  of  consider- 
able length,  in  such  circumstances,  on  the  back  of  a  hand- 
bill or  on  any  scrap  of  paper  that  first  fell  in  his  way. 
For  twenty  years,  at  least,  hardly  a  number  of  the 
Chronicle  was  issued,  that  did  not  contain  something 
from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Austin.  His  style  was  vigorous 
and  clear,  and  though  he  wrote  with  great  rapidity,  and 
seldom  revised  what  he  had  written,  his  sentences  are  in 
general,  symmetrically  constructed,  and  seldom  (though 
still  too  often)  disfigured  by  the  interpolation  of  foreign 
words  and  phrases  ;  —  a  species  of  affectation,  which  fre- 
quently disgraces  the  composition  of  many,  who  make 
high  pretensions  to  scholarship.  I  believe  he  never  at- 
tempted to  conceal  the  origin  of  any  thing,  which  he 
wrote,  though  innumerable  paragraphs  were  published 
without  a  signature.  But  his  longer  and  more  important 
contributions  are  signed  "  Honestus  "  and  "  Old  South." 
So  numerous  wei'e  his  writings  under  the  first  of  these 
signatures,  and  so  well  was  he  known  as  the  writer,  that 
he  was  as  frequently  spoken  of  by  the  newspaper  epi- 
thet as  by  his  real  name.  It  passed  into  a  by-word 
among  his  political  opponents,  on  the  Exchange,  and  in 
the  public  streets.  The  essays  of  Honestus  were  begun 
in  March,  1786.  The  first  number  was  entitled  "  Some 
Observations  on  the  Practice  of  the  Law,  offered  for  the 
serious  consideration  of  the  Legislature  ; "  and  this  sub- 


274  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

ject  was  pursued  through  a  long  series  of  communica- 
tions, which  very  naturally  produced  essays  of  an  op- 
posite character,  some  of  which  were  published  in  the 
Chronicle,  but  they  were  chiefly  in  the  Centinel.  The 
following  lines  stand  as  a  motto  to  the  first  essay  of 
Honestus :  — 

T\Ticn  will  Benevolence  the  Law-jer warm  ? 

Or  when  plain  Honesty  the  Courtier  charm? 

How  flames  my  blood,  indignant  at  the  thought 

That  Laws  are  bartered ;  human  Piissions  bought ! 

That  men  no  more  the  soft  sensations  feel, 

And  gold  —  cursed  gold, — the  bosom  turns  to  steel. 

In  1798,  Mr.  Austin  wrote  several  articles  under  this 
same  signature,  in  defence  of  the  policy  of  President 
Adams,  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  entertained  views 
somewhat  different  from  those  of  Alexander  Hamilton 
and  other  Federalists,  in  relation  to  a  war  with  France. 
P^or  this  he  was  assailed  by  writers  in  the  federal  papers, 
But  by  none  other  with  quite  so  much  vulgarity  as  one 
in  the  Mercury,  who  began  his  attack  in  this  fashion  :  — 

"  HOXESTUS  "  —  A  hungry,  lean-faced  fellow, 

A  mere  anatomy,  a  rope-maker, 

An  envious,  hollow-eyed,  sharp-looking  wretch; 

This  living  dead  man,  tliis  incessant  scribe, 

Forsooth,  took  on  him  as  a  chronicler. 

And,  with  no  face,  out-facing  federal  foes, 

Cries  out,  They  are  possessed. 

Who  would  have  thought  it?  Honestus  is  again  in  print.  This 
abominable  booby  has  not  yet  learnt  that  he  is  universally  despised,  and 
his  doings  and  looks  arc  alike  sickening 

The  rest  need  not  be  quoted.  A  portion  of  the  essays 
signed  "Old  South"  were  republished  in  1803,  in  an 
octavo  volume  of  more  than  three  hundred  pages.  In 
an  introductory  number,  he  refers  to  the  town-meetings. 


BENJAMIN    AUSTIN,    JUN.  275 

which  had  been  held  in  the  Old  South  Meeting-house, 
when  the  merits  of  the  British  treaty  of  1794  were  the 
subject  of  discussion,  and  adds,  —  "  To  commemorate  this 
important  era,  the  signature  of  Old  South  is  now  taken." 
The  contents  of  this  volume,  —  if  now  read,  —  will 
excite  sentiments  very  different  from  those,  with  which 
their  first  publication  was  received.  Readers  of  this  and 
future  generations,  who  have  taken,  or  may  take,  the 
character  of  Mr.  Austin,  from  traditionary  report,  or 
from  the  effusions  of  newspaper  writers  of  the  period, 
in  which  he  lived  and  wrote,  will  probably  be  surprised 
to  find  nothing  that  is  inconsistent  with  public  order  or 
private  morality  —  no  single  line  or  sentiment,  in  viola- 
tion of  the  duties  of  a  Christian  or  an  honest  man.  In 
his  Prefatory  Address,  he  remarks  :  — 

Harmony,  peace  and  moderation  depend  on  the  body  of  republican 
citizens,  acting  upon  one  consolidated  principle  in  support  of  the  consti- 
tution and  laws  of  the  government.  An  union  of  republicans  and 
monarchists  can  never  be  expected ;  an  union  with  those  who  advocate 
unnecessary  taxes  and  those  who  are  opposed  to  them,  is  chimerical ; 
an  union  of  those,  who  use  scurrility  and  defamation,  with  those,  who 
substantiate  their  measures  by  reason  and  sound  policy,  is  reversing 
every  logical  decision ;  an  union  with  friends  of  order  and  the  revilers 
of  an  administration,  which  inculcates  peace  abroad  and  harmony  at 
home,  is  as  impossible  as  a  cordiality  between  God  and  mammon.  The 
union  sought  after  depends  on  the  candid  deliberation  of  the  well- 
disposed  citizens,  whose  happiness  is  involved  in  the  permanency  of  a 
wise  and  economical  administration.  An  union  of  this  kind  may  be 
effected ;  as  we  have  reason  to  think  that  many  honest  men  have  been 
in  opposition,  from  the  arts  and  intrigues  of  such  classes  as  are  above- 
described  ;  and  we  charitably  hope,  a  pre-eminent  character,*  now  in 
retirement,  is  convinced  that  he  was  deceived  by  them,  who  pretended 
the  highest  friendship  towards  him.  We  ever  wish  to  revere  his  char- 
acter ybr  the  part  he  took  during  our  revolution ;  and  we  pray  God  that  his 
last  days  may  be  employed  in  exposing  those  culprits,  who  pretend  to 
venerate  him,  while  they  eulogize  the  man,t  who  attempted  to  blast  his 
name  with  infamy  and  reproach. 

*  John  Adams.  t  Alexander  Hamilton. 


276  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

Taking  this  ground,  the  author  has  considered  the  various  suhjects 
contemplated.  He  has  noticed  every  individual  in  his  political  charac- 
ter. As  private  men,  he  estimates  them  in  proportion  to  their  social  vir- 
tues, and  does  not  wish  to  invalidate  whatever  may  be  essential  to  their 
moral  rectitude.  lie  acknowledges  to  have  ■WTitten  with  freedom ;  but 
the  controversy  of  the  present  day,  as  connected  with  the  future  happi- 
ness of  our  common  country,  demands  an  unequivocal  investigation  of 
men  and  measures.  He  is  willing  to  stand  the  test  of  principles  ;  and, 
for  this  purpose  only,  has  he  consented  to  give  liis  name  as  a  voucher 
for  the  sincerity  of  his  observ'ations. 

Tlie  cause  of  real,  undejiled  reli(jion,  as  inculcated  in  the  Gospel,  he  is 
ever  desirous  to  espouse  ;  and  if  any  remarks  on  its  professors  appear 
pungent,  it  is  for  the  sole  puipose  of  discriminating  between  piety  and 
hypocrisy.  Neither  would  he  uncharit.ibly  condemn  all  such  men  as 
differ  from  him,  as  hypocrites  or  apostates;  yet  the  severity  and  in- 
decency, with  which  some  have  replied  to  his  remarks,  justify  him  in 
administering  the  tartar  of  retaliation. 

Those,  who  wish  to  be  more  particularly  informed  of 
the  character  of  Mr.  Austin's  intellectual  capacities,  the 
power  of  his  political  prejudices  and  predilections,  and 
the  motives,  by  which  he  was  animated  as  a  writer,  will 
do  well  to  consult  his  published  writings,  —  but  an  in- 
considerable part  of  which  are  contained  in  the  volume 
here  referred  to. 

In  1806,  an  incident  of  a  most  extraordinary  and  agi- 
tating nature  occurred,  in  the  fatal  consequences  of 
which  Mr.  Austin  and  his  family  were  deeply  and  pain- 
fully involved.  The  fever  of  political  animosity  was  at 
its  height.  Each  political  party  projected  a  celebration 
of  the  4th  of  July.  The  Federalists  held  their  festival 
in  Fanueil  Hall  ;  the  Republicans  had  theirs  on  Copp's 
Hill.  The  entertainment  was  provided  for  the  Republi- 
cans, by  a  man  who  kept  a  tavern  in  Charlestown  ;  that 
for  the  Federalists  by  the  man  who  kept  the  public 
house,  known  as  Concert  Hall.  A  few  days  after  the 
celebration,  rumors  were  circulated  about  the  town  that 
the  Republicans  had  a  difficulty  in  settling  their  account 


BENJAMIN    AUSTIN,    JUN.  51?^ 

with  the  contractor  for  their  dinner,  and  this  rumor  wa^ 
accompanied  with  reproachful  comments  in  the  federal 
papers.  As  an  offset,  it  was  stated  in  the  Chronicle 
that  the  tavern-keeper,  who  supplied  the  entertainment 
for  their  party,  was  paid,  and  that  "  a  receipt  in  full 
could  be  produced  for  every  minutiae  furnished  on  that 
occasion,"  and  added,  "  Let  the  federal  gentry  produce 
a  receipt  in  full  for  their  entertainment."  This  was  fol- 
lowed up  by  paragraphs  and  communications,  by  both 
parties,  of  a  character  highly  irritating,  and  tending  to 
exasperate  passions,  that  were  easily  inflamed.  The 
persons  more  immediately  concerned  in  carrying  on  this 
unfortunate  controversy  were  Mr.  Austin,  who  was 
chairman  of  the  republican  committee,  and  Thomas 
O.  Selfridge,  who  was  one  of  the  most  active  members 
of  the  federal  party.  A  controversy  had  arisen  between 
the  federal  committee  and  some  of  the  persons,  who 
contracted  for  the  entertainment.  Mr.  Selfridge  had 
been  employed,  professionally,  to  adjust  the  difference, 
and  this  gave  to  Mr.  Austin  occasion  for  some  offensive 
remarks.  On  the  fourth  of  August,  the  following  notice 
appeared  conspicuously  in  the  Boston  Gazette  :  — 
AUSTIN  POSTED. 

Benjamin  Austin,  Loan-Officer,  having  acknowledged  that  he  has 
circulated  an  infamous  falsehood  concerning  my  professional  conduct, 
in  a  certain  case,  and  having  refused  to  give  the  satisfaction  due  to  a 
gentleman  in  similar  cases :  —  I  hereliy  publish  said  Austin  as  a  COW- 
ARD, a  LIAR,  and  a  SCOUNDREL ;  and  if  the  said  Austin  has  the 
effrontery  to  deny  any  part  of  the  charge,  he  shall  be  silenced  by  the 
most  irrefragable  proof.  THOMAS  0.  SELFRIDGE. 

p.  S.  The  various  editors  in  the  United  States  are  requested  to  insert 
the  above  notice  in  their  journals  ;  and  theu'  bills  shall  be  paid  to  their 
respective  agents  in  this  town. 

The  Chronicle  and  Gazette  being  issued  on  the  same 
24 


278  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

morning,  a  considerable  number  of  copies  of  the  Chron- 
icle had  passed  through  the  press,  before  the  Gazette 
was  seen  by  ^Ir.  Austin.  A  part  of  the  edition  of  the 
Chronicle  contained  the  following  :  — 

Considering  it  derogatory  to  enter  into  a  newspaper  controversy  with 
one  T.  0.  Selfridge,  in  reply  to  his  insolent  and  FALSE  publication  in 
the  Gazette  of  this  day  ;  if  any  gentleman  is  desirous  to  know  the  facts 
on  which  his  impertinence  is  founded,  any  infomiation  will  be  given  by 
me  on  the  subject.  BENJAMIN  AUSTIN. 

Boston,  Aug.  4. 

[t^  Those  who  publish  Selfridge's  statement  are  recjucsted  to  insert 
the  above,  and  tlicy  shall  be  paid  on  presenting  their  bills. 

About  one  o'clock  of  the  day,  on  which  these  publi- 
cations appeared,  Charles,  a  son  of  Mr.  Austin,  and  Mr. 
Selfridge  met  on  the  side-walk,  on  the  south  side  of 
State-street,  not  far  from  the  corner  of  Congress-street. 
No  person  was  near  enough  to  hear  any  words  that 
might  have  passed  between  them.  In  less  than  a  min- 
ute after  they  met,  Selfridge  was  seen  to  draw  a  pistol 
from  his  pocket,  and  discharge  it  at  Austin.  Austin 
instantly  struck  Selfridge,  —  or  at  him,  —  with  a  small 
stick  he  had  in  his  hand,  and  fell  from  the  side-path  on 
to  the  pavement,  and,  without  speaking,  expired,  —  the 
blood  gushing  from  his  mouth.  The  ball  had  entered 
his  breast,  just  below  the  left  pap,  and  passed  through  the 
body.  This  sad  and  agonizing  event,  the  judicial  pro- 
ceedings, which  followed,  and  the  acquittal  of  the  man, 
whom  the  jury  of  inquest  charged  with  murder,  had  a  deep 
and  painful  influence  on  the  after-life  of  Mr.  Austin.  The 
expressions  of  sympathy  were  many  and  sincere,  even 
from  political  adversaries.  Whatever  provocation  might 
have  been  given  by  the  bitterness  of  political  contro- 
versy, it   is  certain   that  none,  but  the  most  implacably 


BENJAMIN    AUSTIN,    JUN.    "  279 

vindictive,  could  fail  to  be  softened  by  a  knowledge  of 
the  agony  of  this  tremendous  infliction,  and  by  the  suf- 
fering it  carried  into  the  midst  of  a  family,  which  his 
domestic  habits  and  attachments  had  made  the  centre  of 
all  his  affections. 

Charles  Austin  was  in  the  nineteenth  year  of  his  age. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Senior  class  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege. He  acquired  the  rudiments  of  a  collegiate  educa- 
tion at  Phillips  Academy,  in  Andover,  and  had  frequently 
received  from  the  instructers  in  that  institution,  as  well 
as  those  at  Harvard,  testimonials  of  approbation.  The 
Faculty  of  the  College  had  assigned  to  him  one  of  the 
highest  parts  in  the  exercises  of  the  Commencement, 
that  was  then  soon  to  follow.  His  friends  looked  for- 
ward to  that  day,  with  pleasing  anticipations  of  a  per- 
formance, that  would  justify  the  estimate  they  had  formed 
of  his  talents  and  principles.  He  died  by  the  hand  of 
violence,  in  the  midst  of  his  hopes.  His  funeral  was 
attended  by  a  long  procession  of  citizens  of  Boston  and 
the  neighboring  towns.*  The  pall  was  supported,  and 
the  corpse  preceded,  by  the  Senior  class  of  Harvard 
College,  and  followed,  immediately  after  the  relatives, 
by  the  President,  Professors,  and  Tutors  of  that  institu- 
tion. 

For  many  weeks  succeeding  this  tragedy,  the  Chroni- 
cle poured  out  its  anathemas  on  the  Federalists,  whom  it 
charged  with  art,  intrigue,  and  deception,  and  a  desire 
to  stifle  all  investigation  of  their  measures,  even  by  the 
use  of  the  pistol.  The  "  Reflections  "  of  the  editors, 
and  the  communications  of  correspondents,  were  not 
adapted   to    allay   excitement.     The   federal   papers  of 

•  See  Independent  Chronicle,  August  7  and  11,  1806. 


280  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

Boston  maintained  a  general  silence  in  relation  to  the 
subject ;  but  numerous  letters,  written  from  Boston,  were 
published  in  other  places,  and  tended  to  provoke  a  con- 
tinuance of  the  animadversions  of  the  Chronicle.  The 
charge  of  Chief  Justice  Parsons  to  the  Grand  Jury,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  term  of  the  Court  when  Selfridge 
was  to  be  tried,  occasioned  elaborate  comments  in  the 
Chronicle,  many  of  which  bore  evident  marks  of  legal 
knowledge  in  the  writer,  and  practical  investigation  of  the 
laws  concerning  murder,  manslaughter,  and  homicide. 
The  reader  who  may  wish  to  examine  the  articles  relating 
to  these  exciting  transactions,  may  gratify  his  curiosity  by 
consulting  the  columns  of  the  Chronicle,  for  several 
months  succeeding  the  beginning  of  August,  1806. 

During  some  of  the  later  years  of  his  life,  —  after 
the  asperities  of  political  hostiUty  had,  in  some  measure, 
become  softened,  and  the  federal  party  had  dissolved  its 
organization,  — Mr.  Austin  continued  to  indulge  his  dis- 
position to  write  for  newspapers,  and  wrote  several  col- 
umns of  criticism  on  the  theatre  —  exposing  what  he 
thought  the  immoralities,  vulgarities,  and  absurdities  of 
the  stage.  Though  amusing  enough,  and  not  always 
unworthy  of  the  consideration  of  the  reflecting  philoso- 
pher and  moralist,  these  essays  added  nothing  to  his  rep- 
utation as  a  writer.  Literary  reputation,  indeed,  he 
never  coveted.  The  field  of  politics  was  that,  in  which 
it  seemed  he  was  created  to  labor,  and  in  that  field  he 
had  ample  employment. 

There  were  other  writers  of  considerable  notoriety, 
who  contributed  political  communications,  —  among 
whom  were  Perez  Morton,  afterwards  the  attorney- 
general  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  Dr.  Charles  Jarvis. 


INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE.  281 

The  last-named  gentleman  was  often  a  representative 
from  Boston  in  the  General  Court,  before  the  federal 
parly  gained  the  entire  ascendency.  He  was  celebrated 
for  his  oratorical  powers,  which  were  really  of  a  high 
order.  I  am  not  able  to  identify  the  writings  of  either 
of  these  gentlemen,  nor  those  of  numerous  others,  who 
frequented  the  office  of  the  Chronicle,  and  aided  the 
editor  in  his  labors. 

From  an  obituary  notice  in  the  Chronicle  of  Septem- 
ber 24,  1798,  it  appears  that  Thomas  Greenleaf  had  at 
some  time  been  employed  as  editor  or  assistant  editor  of 
the  paper.  It  is  there  said,  —  "  He  was  a  steady,  uni- 
form, zealous  supporter  of  the  Rights  of  Humanity  ;  a 
warm  friend  to  civil  and  religious  liberty,  unawed  by 
persecution  or  prosecution,  both  of  which  it  has,  not  un- 
frequently,  been  his  lot  to  experience.  He  loved  his 
country;  and  if,  at  any  time,  as  Editor  of  this  paper,  he 
dipped  his  pen  in  gall,  and  exercised  it  with  unusual 
severity,  it  was  occasioned  by  that  strong  abhorrence  he 
felt  against  political  apostacy,  and  the  fervor  of  his 
wishes  to  preserve  the  Constitution  from  encroachment." 

Though  the  leading  traits  in  the  character  of  the 
Chronicle  were  of  a  strong  political  complexion,  yet 
there  are  many  evidences  that  the  conductors,  —  at  least, 
from  the  time  of  Adams  &,  Nourse,  —  were  not  deficient 
in  literary  taste.  Their  selections  of  poetry,  which  often 
occupied  an  appropriate  corner,  were  frequently  of  a 
higher  character  than  ordinary.  The  origin  of  the  piece 
which  follows,  is  unknown.  It  is  introduced  by  a  note, 
saying  it  was  suggested  by  a  passage  in  Edwards's  His- 
tory of  the  West  Indies,  which  describes  the  once  cele- 
brated "  Obi,"  —  a  farrago,  composed  of  blood,  feathers, 
24* 


282  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

parrots'  beaks,  broken  bottles,  grave  dirt,  rum,  and  egg 
shells.  By  the  proper  mixture  of  these  ingredients,  the 
negroes  imagined  they  could  effect  the  destruction  of 
their  enemies :  — 

THE     NEGRO    INCANTATION. 

Hail  !  ye  sacred  horrors,  hail ! 

AVhich,  brooding  o'er  this  lonely  vale, 

Swell  the  heart,  irnpcarl  the  eye, 

And  raise  the  rapt  soul  to  the  sky. 

Hail !  spirits  of  the  swarthy  dead, 

Who  flitting  through  the  dreary  shade. 

To  rouse  your  sons  to  vengeance  fell, 

Nightly  raise  the  troublous  yell ! 
Hail !  Minister  of  111,  whose  iron  power 

Pervades  resistless  earth,  and  sea,  and  air. 
Shed  all  thy  influence  on  this  solemn  hour, 

When  wc  with  magic  rites  the  white  man's  doom  prepare. 

Thus  Congo  spoke,  "  what  time  the  moon, 

"  Riding  in  her  highest  noon," 

New  beamed  upon  the  sable  crowd. 

Now  vanished  in  the  thickening  cloud. 

'  Twas  silence  all  —  with  frantic  look, 

His  spells  the  hoary  wizard  took ; 

Bending  o'er  the  quivering  flame. 

Convulsion  shook  his  giant  frame ; 
Close  and  more  close  the  shuddering  captives  throng. 

With  Ijreath  repressed,  and  straining  eye  they  wait, 
AVhen  midst  the  jjhintains  bursts  the  awful  song. 

The  words  of  mystic  might,  that  seal  their  tyrant's  fate. 

Haste!  the  magick  slu'cds  prepare  — 

Thus  tlie  white  man's  corse  we  tear, 

Lo !  feathers  from  the  raven's  plume. 

That  croaks  our  proud  oppressor's  doom. 

Now  to  aid  the  potent  spell. 

Crush  we  next  the  brittle  shell  — 

Fearful  omen  to  the  foe. 

Look !  the  blanched  bones  we  throw. 
From  mouldering  graves  we  stole  this  hallowed  earth, 

"\ATiich  mixed  mth  blood,  winds  up  the  mystic  charm ; 
Wide  yawns  the  grave  for  all  of  northern  birth, 

And  soon  shall  smoke  with  blood  each  sable  warrior's  arm. 


INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE.  283 

Hark !  tlic  pealing  thunders  roll, 

Grateful  to  the  troubled  soul. 

See !  the  gleamy  lightnings  play, 

To  point  you  to  your  destined  prey, 

Hence !  with  silent  foot  and  flow, 

And  sudden  strike  the  deadly  blow : 

Your  foes,  the  balmy  shade  beneath, 

Lie  locked  in  sleep  —  then*  sleep  is  death  ! 
Go !  let  the  memoiy  of  the  smarting  throng 

Outlead  the  pity  that  would  prompt  to  save ; 
Go  let  the  oppi-essor's  contumelious  wrong, 

Twice  nerve  the  hero's  arm,  and  make  the  coward  brave. 

Of  the  ov\gma.\ political  ])oeiry  the  following  specimen 
must  suffice.  It  was  written  at  Suffield,  Conn,  and  pro- 
posed as  a  Psalm  for  the  Fast  Day,  appointed  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  to  be  observed  in  the 
beginning  of  May,  1798.  It  will  be  perceived  that  it  is 
a  parody  on  Dr.  Watts's  version  :  — 

PSALM    FOR    THE     FEDERAL    FAST. 
To  the  tune  of  the  148th  Psalm. 

Ye  federal  States  combine, 

In  solemn  Fast  and  Prayer ; 
And  urge  the  powers  divine 
To  drive  us  into  war; 

With  voices  strong,  On  pension  list 

Each  Federalist  Begin  the  song. 

Thy  voice,  0  Pickering,  raise, 
And  Wolcott  join  the  song ; 
Sing  to  Britannia's  praise. 
Let  Jay  the  strain  prolong ; 

Your  ancient  friend.  In  this  dark  hour 

Ye  men  in  power,  With  zeal  defend. 

The  British  Empire,  lo ! 

In  matchless  order  stands. 
Or  moves,  when  bid  to  go 
By  Guelph's  supreme  commands  ; 

He  sends  his  fleet,  In  reverence  low 

And  France  must  bow     At  George's  feet. 


284  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE 

For  bribery  moved  their  wheels 

Through  many  ages  past, 
And  each  his  word  fulfils 
While  cash  and  credit  last. 

In  different  ways  You  hope  the  fame 

Your  works  proclaim  ;      You  so  much  praise. 
Let  all  the  well-rorx  race 
With  SIMPLE  MEN  unite, 
Three  frigates  cleave  the  seas 
And  haughty  Frenchmen  fight ; 

Both  sea  and  shore  And  still  display 

Their  tribute  pay.  Our  wondrous  power. 

Ye  Clergy,  on  this  day 
On  Politics  discourse. 
And  when  ye  rise  to  pray. 

Both  France  and  Frenchmen  curse  ; 

For  you  've  a  right  Exhort  and  teach 

To  pray  and  preach.         Mankind  to  fight. 
Ye  funding  gentry,  join 
In  Ilamiltonian  choir. 
And  all  your  strength  combine 
To  blow  the  warlike  fire : 

Our  debt  will  then  That  when  we  've  peace 

So  much  increase.  We  '11  fund  again. 

Ye  Federal  Judges,  too, 

Devoutly  pray  for  war ; 
You  've  little  now  to  do 
In  distributing  Law. 
Nor  let  the  dream  Make  you  forget 

Of  power  and  state  The  power  supreme. 

Let  Hartford  wits  proceed 

To  sing  John  Adams'  praise, 
Canaan's  poets  feed 

Shall  high  his  honours  raise ; 

Then  will  the  song  And  through  the  air 

Join  well  with  prayer ;      Waft  smooth  along. 
Let  all  the  States  attend, 
At  this  his  solemn  call. 
To  curse  their  ancient  friend 
And  bless  our  rulers  all : 

For  this'  the  day,  Through  the  whole  land 

That,  heart  and  hand,       For  WAR  we  pray. 


INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE.  285 

The  following  piece  is  said  to  be  tlie  production  of  "  a 
minor."  As  poetry,  it  may  not  survive  the  test  of  severe 
criticism  ;  but  as  a  specimen  of  juvenile  composition, 
imbued  with  moral  sentiment,  it  may  be  worthy  of  repub- 
lication ill  this  place  :  — 

MEDITATIONS    AND    VISION    OF    CASSEM. 
A   MOKAL   TALE. 

To  give  my  mind  a  short  reprieve, 
I  passed  a  pleasant  summer's  eve, 

On  Lima's  -vvestem  hill. 
Above  my  head,  thro'  space  profound, 
The  stars,  like  diamonds,  twinkled  i-ound, 
Whose  revolutions  know  no  bound. 

But  the  Eternal  will. 
The  moon,  Avith  solemn  pomp,  had  spread, 
Her  silver  brightness,  through  the  shade. 

I  view'd  the  landscape  o'er. 
Here,  the  whole  town  lies  sunk  in  sleep ; 
There,  rugged  deserts  vast  and  deep  ; 
While  waves,  beneath  the  mountains  creep, 

And  nod  against  the  shore. 
I  felt  a  transport,  more  refined. 
Than  can  be  felt,  but  by  a  mind 

Tree  from  a  guilty  stain ; 
And  as  I  melted  with  delight, 
Imagination  took  her  flight, 
And  left  the  gloomy  shades  of  night. 

To  seek  the  Elysian  plain : 
Methought  I  saw,  the  happy  few, 
Searching  the  depths  of  nature  too. 

But  with  enlarged  ken  ; 
(Said  I)  Oh  Cassem!  do  not  these, 
Indulge  the  same  propensities, 
Do  they  not  search  Infinities, 

And  contemplate,  like  men  1 
Their  faith  to  ample  vision  flows ; 
They  view  the  systems,  that  compose 

The  universal  frame ; 


286  INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE. 

Here,  the  first  stars,  like  suns,  appear, 
And  spread  their  influence  far  and  near, 
While  their  respective  planets,  here, 

Wheel  round  in  liquid  flame. 
Thus  musing,  I  myself  forgot ; 
But  now  a  philosophic  thought. 

Perplexed  my  troubled  breast; 
I  started  back,  but  how,  (said  I,) 
Can  immateriality, 
Possess  a  sensual  quality  ? 

Or,  how  is  void  imprest  ? 
Can  they  sec  verdure,  without  eyes  ? 
Or,  hear  the  music  of  the  skies. 

Without  the  ears  of  men? 
Spices,  in  vain,  perfume  the  air. 
If  smelling  be  extinguished  there  ; 
And,  without  taste,  the  trees  would  bear 

Their  blushing  fruit  in  vain. 
As  thus  I  sat,  confus'd  with  doubt, 
I  chanced  to  turn  my  eyes  about, 

And  saw  a  form  divine  ; 
Celestial  love  da^vn'd  in  his  face  ; 
A  voice  of  majesty,  and  grace, 
Commanded  me  t'  approach  the  place ; 

My  willing  feet  incline. 
'  Cassem !  (said  he)  draw  near,  attend, 
'  I  am  the  Genius  your  friend  : 

'  No  more  perplex  thy  mind  ; 
'  Of  what  avail  is  it  to  thee, 
'  To  know  how  they  converse,  or  see  ? 
'  Cease,  then,  thy  curiosity, 

'  For  God  is  wise  and  kind. 
'  Oh  Cassem !  be  assured  of  this, 
'  However  formed,  their  happiness 

Exceeds  a  glimmering  thought ; 
'  Body  and  soul  shall  reunite, 
'  Dust  shall  revive,  forever  bright 
'  And  vigorous,  as  morning  light, 

'  Without  a  guilty  spot. 
'  Inquire  no  more,  how  this  shall  be  ; 
'  Go  to  the  Persian  looms,  and  see 

'  The  little  shining  worm ; 


INDEPENDENT    CHRONICLE.  287 

'  He  winds  the  nest,  wherein  he  lies, 

'  Completes  his  work,  contracts,  and  dies ; 

'  Yet  you  behold  this  insect  rise, 

'  A  most  surprizing  form. 
'  It  was  a  worm,  despised  and  slow ; 
'  On  gilded  wings,  it  flutters  now, 

'  A  little  kind  of  bird  ; 
'  How  much  improved  is  its  dress, 
'  Adorned,  "in  all  its  loveliness, 
'  While  every  gem,  with  readiness, 

'  Its  native  tint  conferred. 
'  Here,  you  behold,  in  miniature, 
'  The  glories  of  that  wondrous  hour; 

'  Let  this  inspire  thy  heart : 
'  Cassem  !  regard  the  specimen  ; 
'  Thy  dust  shall  be  inspir'd  again, 
'  And  ever  shine  ;  hope  humbly  then, 

'  But  study  to  depart.' 
Here,  ceased  the  heavenly  messenger, 
When  lo  !  the  music  of  the  air 

Filled  me  with  sweet  surprize. 
Anon,  the  Genius  soared  away. 
And,  as  I  traced  his  wondrous  way, 
I  turned,  and  saw  the  dawning  day, 

Smile  in  the  eastern  skies. 

The   Chronicle  was  a  zealous    advocate  and  sturdy 
supporter  of  the  war  of  1812. 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA  JOURNAL. 


William  Bradford,  the  grandson  of  that  William 
Bradford,  who  was  the  first  person  that  followed  the 
business  of  printing  in  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  New- 
York.  He  was  adopted  by  an  uncle,  —  Andrew  Brad- 
ford,—  who,  having  no  children  of  his  own,  educated 
him  as  his  son,  and  instructed  him  in  the  art  of  printing. 
In  1741,  he  visited  England,  and  returned  in  1742, 
with  printing  materials  and  a  stock  of  books,  and  imme- 
diately began  business  as  a  printer  and  bookseller.  In 
December  of  that  year,  he  began  the  publication  of  a 
newspaper,  under  the  title  of  The  Pennsylvania  Journal, 
which  was  continued  by  him  and  his  successors  for  more 
than  sixty  years. 

This  paper  was  devoted  to  the  cause  of  freedom  from 
the  dominion  of  Great  Britain.  The  only  volume  of  it, 
which  I  have  seen,  embraces  the  publication  from  Jan- 
uary 3,  1765,  to  December  25,  1766  —  a  period  of 
great  interest  in  the  history  of  our  country.  Among 
other  articles  of  importance,  is  the  discussion  concerning 
"  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Franklin  as  agent  for  the 
Province."  It  may  not  be  generally  known,  that 
Franklin  was  suspected  by  some  persons,  of  advising  to 
the  enactment  of  the  Stamp  Act.  The  Journal  of  Jan- 
uary 10,  1765,  contains  a  letter  from  John  Hughes,  de- 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  289 

fending  Franklin  against  the  remarks  of  an  anonymous 
writer  in  a  former  paper.  The  annexed  extract  from 
this  article  may  serve  as  a  specimen  of  the  style  of  the 
writer,  who  was,  afterwards,  appointed  commissioner  of 
stamps  for  the  province  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  active 
in  carrying  the  act  into  effect :  — 

Permit  me  to  whisper  one  piece  of  advice  in  your  ear.  Tell  your 
friends,  that  their  money,  their  otfices  and  pride  seem  to  have  effected 
their  senses,  that  they  whose  originals  are  like  the  fountains  of  the  ISile 
unknown,  ought  to  treat  with  tenderness  and  caution,  the  honest  trades- 
men and  mechanics  of  Philadelphia,  many  of  whom  are  on  a  level 
with,  if  not  greatly  superior,  to  themselves  with  respect  to  family,  for- 
tune, understanding  and  merit.  Let  them  know  that  they  have  been 
out  in  their  policy,  when  they  instructed  you  to  endeavour  to  ridicule 
me  on  account  of  my  having  been  once  a  tradesman.  For  if  it  be  dis- 
graceful to  be  an  honest  farmer  or  mechanic,  I  glory  in  my  disgrace. 
Tell  them  that  the  wealth,  strength,  liberty  and  prosperity  of  the 
province  are  owing  to  the  labour,  industry,  vigilance,  and  steadiness  of 
these  men,  and  these  chiefly.  And  tell  them  seriously  one  thing  more, 
that  should  another  occasion  be  given,  their  own  origins  shall  be  traced 
as  f\ir  as  they  can  be  discovered.  Where  perhaps  we  shall  find  some  at 
the  petti/  work  of  filing  the  brazen  wire  and  forming  the  heads  of  pins; 
others  at  the  laborious  toil  of  plying  the  oars  of  an  unwielded  flat;  others 
at  pushing  the  aid  and  drawing  the  waxen  thread  through  the  greasy 
leather,  or  as  your  present  Poet  Laureat  has  formerly  observed 

"  From  patching  shoes  have  rose  to  patch  the  state ; " 

others  with  diflSculty  emerging  from  the  disabled  state  of  Banlcruptcy ; 
and  others  ....  but  I  forbear  the  ignominious  and  infamous  part  of  the 
catalogue.  Nothing  shall  prevail  on  me,  but  the  highest  aggravation, 
to  tarnish  the  characters  of  the  living  with  the  crimes  of  the  dead. 
Know  this  that  merit  is  the  only  true  nobility.  .... 

"  A  wit 's  a  feather  and  a  chief's  a  rod, 

"  An  honest  man  's  the  noblest  work  of  God." 

And  that  this  nobility  is  as  often  to  be  found  among  the  honest  Farm- 
ers, Mechanics,  and  Tradesmen  of  Pennsylvania,  as  among  those  who 
affect  the  character  of  gentlemen,  and  assume  the  airs  of  quality.  But  if 
you  dare  not  be  thus  free  with  them  for  fear  of  losing  your  bread,  de- 
sist however  from  ridiculing  mankiud,  on  account  of  their  trades  and 

VOL.    I.  25 


290  PENNSYLVANIA    JOURNAL. 

occupations,  lest  you  gnaw  a  file  wliicli  will  render  you  toothless,  and 
incapable  of  biting  forever. 

Hughes  was  a  Tory  and  a  hypocrite  as  is  manifest 
from  several  of  his  letters  to  the  commissioner  of  the 
stamp-office  in  London,  published  in  the  Journal  of 
September  4,  1766. 

The  Journal  of  October  31,  1765,  has  its  pages 
enclosed  in  broad  black  lines,  with  the  picture  of  a  skull 
and  bones,  a  spade  and  pick-axe,  and  other  emblems  of 
mortality,  over  the  title  ;  under  the  title  is  printed  in  large 
type  :  — 

EXPIREXG:  In  Hopes  of  a  Resurrection  to  Life  again. 

At  the  head  of  the  first  column  is  a  notice  from  the 
editor,  saying,  —  "I  am  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  acquaint 
my  readers,  that,  as  the  Stamp  act  is  feared  to  be  obliga- 
tory upon  us  after  the  First  of  November  evening,  (the 
fatal  To-morrow,)  the  Publisher,  unable  to  bear  the 
Burthen,  has  thought  it  expedient  to  stop  awhile,  in 
order  to  deliberate,  whether  any  methods  can  be  found 
to  elude  the  chains  forged  for  us,  and  escape  the  insup- 
portable Slavery  ;  which,  it  is  hoped,  from  the  just  repre- 
sentations now  made  against  this  Act,  may  be  effected. 
Meanwhile  I  must  earnestly  request  every  individual  of 
my  Subscribers,  that  they  would  immediately  discharge 
their  respective  arrears,  that  I  may  be  able,  not  only  to 
support  myself  during  the  Interval,  but  be  the  better 
prepared  to  proceed  again  with  the  paper,  whenever  an 
opening  for  that  purpose  appears,  which  I  hope  will  be 
soon.  William  Bradford." 

Running  along  the  border  of  the  first  page  is  the  fol- 
lowing :  — 

Adieu,  adieu,  to  the  LIBERTY  of  the  TRESS. 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  291 

At  the  foot  of  the  last  column  of  tlie  third  page  are 
the  words,  "  Farewell  LIBERTY."  At  the  foot  of  the 
third  column  of  the  fourth  page,  is  a  cut  representing 
a  coffin,  underneath  which  is  the  inscription  :  — 

The  last  Eemains  of 

The  PENNSYLVANIA  JOURNAL, 

Which  departed  this  Life,  the  31st  of  October,  1765, 

Of  a  Stamp  in  her  Vitals, 

Aged  23  Yeai-s. 

It  seems,  however,  that  the  publication  was  not  dis- 
continued. Tlie  next  paper  is  destitute  of  the  title,  and 
in  its  place  are  the  words,  "  No  Stamp-Paper  to  be  had." 
In  the  next  succeeding  publication,  the  title  is  restored, 
and  remains  unchanged,  except  by  the  addition  of  a 
very  handsome  device,  representing  an  open  volume,  on 
which  appears  the  word  Journal  ;  underneath  the  vol- 
ume is  a  ship  under  sail ;  the  volume  is  supported  by  two 
figures,  one,  a  female  representing  Fame  with  her  trumpet, 
the  other  an  aboriginal  American,  with  his  bow  and  arrows. 

Accompanying  the  first  publication  in  Januaiy,  1766, 
are  the  following  verses,  printed  on  a  quarter  of  a  sheet 
of  writing  paper,  and  which  are  the  earliest  that  I  have 
met  with  in  this  department  of  Newspaper  Literature  :  — 

THE  NEW -YEAR  VERSES 

OF 
THE    printer's    LADS,    WHO    CARRY 

TUB 

PENNSYLVANIA  JOURNAL 

To  the  Customers. 
Philadelphia,  January  1st,  1776. 

She  comes !  She  comes !  —  I  hear  the  festive  Souud, 
The  Goddess  comes  !  —  Let  Hills  and  Vales  resound! 
Before  her  Car  the  ■white-'n'ing'd  Minutes  fly, 
And  Light  unbars  the  Portals  of  the  Sky. 


292  PENNSYLVANIA    JOURNAL. 

Old  Phoebus,  rolling  up  the  eastern  Way, 
Exultant  leads  the  rosy-featur'd  Day, 
While  <;rim-cy'd  Dai-kncss,  from  Kight's  sable  Rear 
Retiring,  scowls  upon  the  new-born  Year. 

Then  Fancy,  haste,  and  -with  thee  bring  along. 
To  grace  the  Scene,  Apollo's  tuneful  Throng. 
Fair  Clio,  haste,  our  eager  Souls  inspire. 
And  shake  soft  ^lusic  from  your  dulcet  Latc. 
'Tis  done :  —  And  lo  where  springs  the  Fount  of  Day, 
The  lilooming  Sisters  wing  their  orient  Way. 
"  Hoarse  Delmcare  the  joyful  Tidings  brings, 
"  And  all  his  Swans,  transported,  clap  their  Wings." 

No  more  stem  War,  exulting  in  her  Slain, 
Horrific  stalks  along  the  goiy  Plain. 
Peace,  blue-ey'd  Goddess,  gave  the  mild  Command, 
And  bade  Destruction  hold  his  ruthless  Hand. 
Contending  Nations  heard  the  pow'rful  Word, 
And  all  obedient  sheath'd  the  reeky  Sword ! 
Yon  wilder'd  Scenes  where  oft  at  Midnight  drear, 
The  gloomy  Savage  roam'd  devoid  of  Fear, 
Religion  there  shall  build  her  radiant  Slirine, 
And  Science  blossom  to  the  latest  Time. 
There  too  at  Eve,  along  the  dewy  Grove, 
Shall  future  Popes  and  future  Millons  rove. 
Ohio's  Banks,  where  gentle  Braddock  fell. 
No  more  shall  learn  th'  infernal  savage  Yell ; 
No  more  its  Streams,  dccp-dy'd  with  Warrior's  Gore, 
Shall  roll  their  crimson  Billows  from  the  Shore. 
In  after  Times,  some  venerable  Seer 
Shall  tell  his  hapless  Story  with  a  Tear ; 
How  there,  the  Wound  unable  to  sustain, 
He,  undistinguish'd,  join'd  th'  uncoffin'd  Slain. 

Charm'd  into  Peace,  within  the  breezy  Shade, 
The  painted  Boy  shall  woo  his  nut-bro^vn  Maid. 
His  melting  Tale  shall  soothe  her  list'ning  Ear, 
And  from  her  bosom  force  the  tender  Tear. 
She  too  when  Evening  hushes  all  the  Plain, 
With  Haste  shall  run  to  meet  her  faithful  Swain, 
Within  the  Grove,  where  o'er  the  Mountain's  Height, 
The  full-orb'd  Cynthia  sheds  her  maiden  Light. 
There  first  her  tender  Breast  shall  catch  the  Flame, 
And  glow  and  tremble  with  the  pleasing  Pain ; 


WILLIAM    AND    THOMAS    BRADFORD.  293 

The  rising  Blush  Love's  conscious  Pow'r  shall  own, 
And  speak  a  Passion  to  the  Maid  unknown. 

But  ah,  my  Muse  !  —  what  sudden  Horrors  rise ! 
The  smiling  Prospect  swims  before  my  Eyes  ! 
What  boding  Sadness  cheeks  my  ling'ring  Mind  ! 
I  hear  a  A^oice  in  each  low  Gust  of  Wind. 
'Tis  he !  'tis  he  !  Oh  hide  the  dreadful  Scene, 
Else,  Mountains,  rise,  and  boundless  Worlds  between ! 
Tis  he,  whom  late  in  Victory  an-ay'd. 
We  hail'd  triumphant  in  the  peaceful  Shade  !  * 
As  lost  in  Thought,  along  Ontario's  Shore, 
The  Indian  Sage  new  Wonders  shall  explore. 
His  gentle  Form  shall  startle  on  liis  View, 
And  all  his  throbbing  Soul  shall  bleed  anew. 
O  sacred  Shade !  if  yet  thou  deign'st  to  hear. 
Forgive  this  rude  involuntary  Tear; 
And  as  bright-mounted  on  the  Wings  of  Day, 
Thou  rid'st  sublime  along  th'  empyreal  Way, 
When  War  arous'd  leads  on  his  hardy  Train, 
And  all  the  Battle  gleams  along  the  Plain, 
Then  let  thy  Guardian- Spirit  hover  nigh, 
And  teach  to  conquer,  or,  untam'd,  to  die. 

In  September,  this  year,  Bradford  took  into  partner- 
ship his  son,  Thomas  Bradford,  and  the  Journal  was 
thenceforth  published  by  William  and  Thomas  Bradford. 

The  Journal  of  September  4,  1766,  is  nearly  filled 
with  letters  from  John  Hughes  (before  mentioned)  to 
the  Commissioner  of  the  Stamp-office  in  London,  from 
which  it  is  manifest  that  he  was  a  Tory  and  a  hypocrite. 
He  complained,  in  the  next  paper,  that  some  anony- 
mous persons,  with  a  view  of  hurting  his  reputation, 
and  serving  their  purpose  at  the  approaching  election, 
(Hughes  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature)  had  furnished 
copies  of  these  letters,  which  were  not  genuine,  &ic. 
He  pronounced  them  forgeries,  and  commenced  an  action 

*  General  Bouquet. 

25* 


294  PENNSYLVANIA    JOURNAL. 

against  the  printers,  as  he  said,  "  in  order  to  do  himself 
justice." 

To  this  notice,  tlie  editors  annexed  an  article  written 
with  dignified  manliness  and  courtesy,  hut  with  becom- 
ing severity  against  Hughes,  whose  notice  they  called  a 
"  fresh  instance  of  his  regard  to  the  Liberties  of  his 
fellow-subjects,  in  his  impotent  but  ill-natured  attempt 
against  the  Liberty  of  the  Press.''  They  proceed  to 
say  :  — 

His  suing  the  Printers  of  the  Pennsylvania  Journal,  for  printing  au 
exact  copy  of  his  owni  letters,  is  no  more  tlian  the  ill-judged  effect  of 
that  insatiable  passion  which  he  lias,  to  trample  upon  the  most  sacred 
Riglits  and  Privileges  of  British  subjects  in  America.  The  letters 
themselves,  which  arc  but  the  history  of  his  own  conduct  for  a  consid- 
erable time  past,  plainly  discover  how  heartily  and  passionately  he 
wished  for  the  favourable  opportunity  which  would  put  it  into  the 
power  of  this  excellent  patriot,  to  execute  the  detestable  STAMP  ACT, 
which  no  American  can  mention  without  abhon-ence,  and  to  reduce  the 
free  born  Sons  of  Britain  to  a  state  of  the  most  wretched  slaveiy. 
What  else  can  be  the  meaning  of  his  barefaced  Falsehood,  in  represent- 
ing North- America  as  in  a  state  of  absolute  rebellion  against  the  best  of 
Kings,  and  in  using  all  his  feeble  endeavours  to  excite  his  Majesty  and 
his  Ministers  to  send  over  an  armed  force  to  quell  us,  as  he  modestly 
terms  it  ?  But  siuh  is  his  insensibility  to  all  the  dictates  of  Honour  or 
pul)lick  Virtue,  that  to  compleat  his  character,  he  would  now  attempt 
to  demolish  the  Liberty  of  the  Press,  that  invaluable  privilege  of  a  free 
I)cople ;  because  through  that  channel  his  hidden  arts  are  brought  to 
Light. 

'Tis  but  a  piece  of  justice  to  the  public,  to  let  them  know  his  last 
cifort  to  prop  his  sinking  character,  which  has  long  laboured  under  vio- 
lent suspicions.  He  procured  a  writ  for  the  printers  of  his  letters,  on 
Saturday  last,  which  was  executed  by  the  Sheriff  on  Monday  morning 
following ;  as  twelve  hundred  pounds  damages  were  marked  upon  the 
writ,  the  printers  sent  him  a  notice  about  12  o'clock,  to  appear  before  a 
Magistrate  to  shew  cause  of  action ;  but  he  refused  to  appear.  At  4 
o'clock,  the  same  afternoon,  they  sent  him  another  notice,  to  appear  for 
the  same  purpose  at  10  o'clock  the  next  day,  and  informed  him,  that 
unless  he  appeared,  they  would  move  for  a  discharge  from  the  arrest. 
But  such  was  the  consciousness  of  his  guilt,  that  he  refused  again  to 


WILLTAM    AND    THOMAS    BRADFORD.  295 

appear,  and  as  he  could  not  be  compelled  by  law  to  shew  cause  of  action, 
the  arrest  was  accor<Iingly  discharged.  We  are  only  the  printers  of  a 
free  and  impartial  paper,  and  we  challenge  Mr.  Huglies  and  the  world, 
to  convict  us  of  partiality  in  this  respect,  or  of  even  an  inclination  to 
restrain  the  freedom  of  the  press  in  any  instance.  We  can  appeal  to 
Korth-America  not  only  for  our  impartiality  as  printers,  but  also  for 
the  great  advantages  derived  to  us  very  lately  from  the  unrestrained 
liberty,  which  every  Briton  claims  of  communicating  his  sentiments  to 
the  public  thro'  the  channel  of  the  press.  What  would  have  become  of 
the  liberties  of  the  Bi-itish  Colonies  in  North- America,  if  Mj.-.  Hughes's 
calls  on  Great  Britain  had  been  heard,  to  restrain  the  printers  here  from 
publishing  what  he  is  pleased  to  stile  inflammatory  pieces,  and  if  every 
prostitute  scribbler,  and  enemy  to  his  country  had  been  suffered,  with- 
out control  from  the  pens  of  true  patriots,  to  rack  their  distempered 
brains,  to  find  out  arguments  to  gull  a  free-born  people  into  a  tame 
submission  to  perjjetual  slavery,  and  to  impose  their  Himsy  cobwebs 
upon  us,  instead  of  solid  and  substantial  reasoning "?  To  the  freedom 
of  the  press  in  America  we  may  in  a  great  measure  attribute  the  con- 
tinuance of  those  inherent  and  constitutional  privileges,  which  we  yet 
enjoy  and  which  every  Briton,  who  is  not  inslaved  to  private  or  party 
interests,  prefers  to  his  life.  We  cannot  therefore  doubt,  but  that  the 
happiness,  which  now  reigns  through  all  the  British  plantations,  will 
inspire  every  friend  of  his  coimtry  with  an  honest  and  generous  indig- 
nation against  the  wretch  that  would  attempt  to  enslave  his- countrymen 
by  restraints  on  the  press. 

We  would  now  inform  the  publick,  that  the  letters  of  Mr.  Galloway 
and  Mr.  Hughes,  which  we  printed  in  our  last  week's  paper,  were  trans- 
mitted to  Philadelphia,  bj'  Capt.  Sparks,  from  a  gentleman  in  London 
of  character  and  integrity,  who  is  a  friend  of  North- America,  and  never 
was  accounted  capable  of  imposing  upon  the  publick.  They  were  pub- 
licky  seen  and  read  in  the  Cotfee-Houses  in  London  by  great  numbers, 
were  laid  before  the  Parliament,  and  are  copied  verbatim  in  their 
Books.  They  came  as  genuine  into  our  hands,  as  such  we  laid  them 
before  the  publick,  and  such,  we  have  it  in  our  power  to  prove  them. 
But  were  there  no  other  evidences  of  his  writing  the  letters  we  printed, 
there  may  be  sufficient  Proofs  of  the  Fact  taken  from  the  very  letters 
themselves,  to  shew  them  the  genuine  Productions  of  his  accurate 
pen.  —  Let  not  Mr.  Hughes  therefore  think  that  his  weak  and  faint 
denial  of  the  Genuineness  of  the  Letters  will  pass  with  the  impartial 
world,  as  sufficient  to  overthrow  such  a  Variety  and  Strength  of  Evi- 
dence, as  the  Public  is  already  possessed  of  against  him.  Let  him 
reconcile  the  assurances  he  has  given  to  the  Commissioners  of  the 


296  PENNSYLVANIA    JOURNAL. 

Stamp-oflSce,  that  he  would  faithfuUy  execute  the  stamp-office  when  it  icould 
he  in  his  power,  with  his  full  resignation  of  it  which  he  made  to  the 
public,  before  he  can  expect  to  be  believed  in  any  matter  by  his  fellow- 
citizens.  William  &  Thomas  Beadfokd. 

Subsequent  papers  contain  "  An  Essay  towards  dis- 
covering the  Authors  and  Promoters  of  the  memorable 
Stamp  Act,  written  by  a  gentleman  in  London  to  his 
friend  in  Philadelphia,"  in  which  the  writer  endeavors  to 
prove  that  Dr.  Franklin  was  guilty  of  duplicity  in  rela- 
tion to  the  passage  of  that  act ;  that  in  his  intercourse 
with  the  British  ministry,  he  approved  and  commended 
the  measure,  while,  to  the  American  people,  he  professed 
to  oppose  it ;  that  he  had  nothing  else  in  view,  than  to 
obtain  a  change  in  the  government  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
get  himself  placed  at  the  head  of  it ;  and  thus,  grossly 
betraying  his  constituents,  he  could  not  be  safely  trusted 
as  their  agent.* 

William  Bradford  was  one  of  the  first  persons  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  to  oppose  the  Stamp  Act,  and 
entertained  uncompromising  hostility  to  all  the  succeed- 
ing measures  of  the  British  government,  in  relation  to 
the  Colonies.  He  took  arms  in  an  early  stage  of  the 
Revolutionary  war:  and  although  he  had  reached  the 
age,  at  which  the  law  exempts  men  from  military  ser- 
vice, he  encountered  the  fatigues  of  a  winter  campaign, 
and  performed  duty  as  a  major  in  the  militia,  in  the 
memorable  battle  of  Trenton.  He  shared  the  honors 
of  the  day  at  Princeton,  and  returned  Colonel  of  the 
regiment,  of  which  he  went  out  Major.  He  was  at  Fort 
Mifflin  when  it  was  attacked  by  the  Hessians,  and  in 
several  other    engagements.     A    few    days    before  the 

*  These  changes  are  refuted  in  Sparks's  Life  of  Franklin,   "Continuation," 
chap.  iv. 


WILLIAM    AND    THOMAS    BRADFORD.  297 

British  troops  took  possession  of  Philadelphia,  he  was 
entrusted  by  the  Governor  with  the  command  of  the 
city,  and  the  care  of  removing  the  stores.  Having  per- 
formed this  service,  he  left  the  city  as  the  enemy  was 
entering  it,  and  went  to  Fort  Mifflin,  where  he  remained 
till  that  fortress  was  evacuated.  From  that  time,  he 
remained  at  Trenton,  till  the  British  army  left  Philadel- 
phia. He  then  returned  to  the  city,  and  re-opened  his 
printing-office,  and  resumed  the  publication  of  his  paper, 
which  had  been  suspended  while  the  city  was  in  the 
possession  of  the  enemy.  He  returned  from  the  hazards 
of  public  service  with  a  broken  constitution  and  depre- 
ciated property.  A  few  yeai's  after  he  had  an  attack  of 
paralysis,  which  ultimately  proved  fatal.  Bradford 
complied,  literally,  with  a  resolve  of  the  early  Revo- 
lutionists, "  to  risk  his  life  and  fortune  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  liberties  of  his  country."  After  the  peace 
was  established,  he  consoled  himself  under  his  misfor- 
tunes ;  and  in  his  solitary  hours,  reflected  with  pleasure, 
that  he  had  done  all  in  his  power  to  secure,  for  his 
country,  a  name  among  independent  nations  ;  and  he 
frequently  said  to  his  children,  "  though  I  bequeath 
you  no  estate,  I  leave  you  in  the  enjoyment  of  lib- 
erty." * 

*  Thomas's  History  of  Trinting,  vol.  ii.  pp.  50,51. 


THE    ESSEX    JOURNAL. 


A  PAPER  entitled  "  The  Essex  Journal,  and  Merri- 
mack Packet ;  Or  the  Massachusetts  and  New-Hamp- 
shire General  Advertiser,"  was  published  in  Newbury- 
port.  '•  It  was  issued  from  the  press,  December  4,  1773, 
by  Isaiah  Tliomas,  printed  on  a  crown  sheet  folio,  equal  ia 
size  to  most  of  the  papers  then  published  in  Boston. 
At  first  its  day  of  publication  was  Saturday,  afterward 
Wednesday.  Two  cuts  were  in  the  title  ;  one,  the  left, 
representing  the  arms  of  the  Province,  that  on  the  right, 
a  ship  under  sail.  Imprint,  — '  Newbury-Port :  Printed 
by  Isaiah  Thomas  and  Henry  Walter  Tinges,  in  King- 
street,  opposite  the  Rev.  Mr.  Parsons's  Meeting-house,' 
&;c.  Thomas  was  the  proprietor  of  the  Journal ;  he 
lived  in  Boston,  and  there  published  the  Massachusetts 
Spy.  Tinges,  as  a  partner  in  the  Journal,  managed  the 
concerns  of  it.  Before  the  expiration  of  a  year,  Thomas 
sold  his  right  in  the  paper  to  Ezra  Lunt ;  and,  about 
two  years  after,  Lunt  sold  to  John  Mycall.  Tinges 
was  a  partner  to  both  ;  but  to  the  latter  only  for  about 
six  months,  when  the  partnership  was  dissolved,  and 
Mycall  became  the  sole  publisher  of  the  Essex  Journal, 
—  the  publication  of  which  he  continued  many  years." 

Thus  far  the  history  of  this  paper  is  given  by  Mr. 
Thomas,  and  nothing  can  be  added,  except  a  few  speci- 


JOHN    MYCALL.  299 

mens  of  the  composition  of  its  editors  and  their  corre- 
spondents. The  first  article  in  the  first  number  is  an  ad- 
dress to  the  Pubhc,  signed  Isaiah  Thomas,  stating,  that, — 
"  Many  respectable  Gentlemen,  Friends  to  Literature, 
having  expressed  their  earnest  desire  that  a  PRINT- 
ING-OFFICE might  be  established  in  this  populous 
Town,  the  Inhabitants  in  general  being  sensible  of  the 
great  Want  thereof,  and  the  Patronage  and  Assistance 
they  have  kindly  promised  to  give,  has  encouraged  me 
to  procure  the  necessary  Apparatus  for  carrying  on  the 
Printing  Business,  and  OPENING  here;  and  ani- 
mates me  to  hope  that  every  PUBLIC  SPIRITED 
GENTLEMAN,  in  this  and  the  Places  adjacent,  will 
promote  so  useful  an  Undertaking." 

This  is  followed  by  the  conditions  on  which  the  paper 
was  proposed  to  be  published,  and  more  than  two  col- 
umns of  remarks  on  "  the  great  utility  of  a  Printing- 
Press,"  and  the  circulation  of  newspapers  ;  and  an  ex- 
position of  what  the  publishers  considered  to  be  their 
duty,  and  the  principles  by  which  they  intended  to  gov- 
ern their  conduct.  They  promised,  when  political  dis- 
putes ran  high,  readers  might  depend  on  hearing  both 
sides  of  the  question,  "  with  the  greatest  impartiality." 

In  the  second  number  they  returned  their  "sincere 
thanks  to  those  gentlemen  and  ladies,  who,  by  their 
encouragement,  had  so  far  assisted  them,  that  Number 
II.  of  the  Essex  Journal,  makes  its  appearance,"  and,  in 
the  form,  customary  at  that  day,  solicited  further  aid. 

The  first  original  articles  are  a  couple  of  communica- 
tions, ironically  describing  the  advantages  of  patronizing 
"  the  much  injured  Lady  TEA,"  about  whom  the 
world    made   such  a  bustle.     These    articles    produced 


300  ESSEX    JOURNAL. 

Others,  but  none  of  ihem  had  a  superabundance  of  wit 
or  humor,  though  some  of  them  discovered  a  spice  of 
ill-nature  in  the  writers.  The  following  verses,  —  which 
have  been  frequently  published,  —  appear  in  the  Journal 
of  March  16,  1774,  as  original  :  — 

A  PROPER    SUBJECT  OF  MEDITATION  TO    SMOKERS  OF  TOBACCO. 
In  Two  Parts. 

FIRST. 

This  Indian  weed,  now  withered  quite, 
Though  green  at  noon,  cut  down  at  night, 

Shows  thy  decay : 

All  flesh  is  hay : 
Thus  think  and  smoke  Tobacco. 
The  Pipe,  so  lily  like  and  weak, 
Does  thus  thy  mortal  state  bespeak ; 

Thou  'rt  even  such, 

Gone  with  a  touch; 
Thus  think  and  smoke  Tobacco. 
And  when  the  smoke  ascends  on  high, 
Then  thou  behold'st  the  vanity 

Of  worldly  stuff 

Gone  with  a  puff; 
Thus  think  and  smoke  Tobacco. 
And  when  the  Pipe  grows  foiU  within 
Think  on  tliy  soul,  defiled  with  sin  j 

Por  then  the  fire 

It  does  require ; 
Thus  think  and  smoke  Tobacco. 

PAKT    II. 

Was  this  small  plant  for  thee  cut  down  ; 
So  was  the  Plant  of  great  renown, 

Which  Mercy  sends 

Por  nobler  ends : 
Thus  think  and  smoke  Tobacco. 
Doth  juice  medicinal  proceed 
From  such  a  naughty  foreign  weed  ? 

Then  what 's  the  power 

Of  Jesse's  flower  ? 
Thus  think  and  smoke  Tobacco.  . 


JOHN    MYCALL.  301 

The  promise,  like  the  Pipe,  inlays, 
And,  by  the  mouth  of  faith,  conveys 

What  virtue  flows 

From  Sharon's  Rose : 
Thus  think  and  smoke  Tobacco. 
In  vain  the  enlightened  Pipe  you  blow; 
Your  pains  in  outward  means  are  so : 

Till  heavenly  fire 

Your  heart  inspire : 
Thus  think  and  smoke  Tobacco. 
The  smoke,  like  burning  incense  towers : 
So  should  a  praying  heart  of  yours, 

With  ardent  cries, 

Surmount  the  skies: 
Thus  think  and  smoke  Toliacco. 

The  communication,  that  follows,  is  an  exponent  of 
opinions  that  were  prevalent  a  century  ago  in  New-Eng- 
land. Some  parts  of  the  censure  may  pass  for  sound 
doctrine  at  this  time,  or  at  all  times  ;  but  there  are  some 
among  us,  who  will  hardly  subscribe  to  the  whole  of  it, 
—  especially  those  who  repudiate  the  writer's  notion, 
that  "  submission  to  the  male  sex  is  an  indispensable  part 
of  the  female  character  "  :  — 

Messes.  Printers, 

There  are  several  vices,  to  which  the  female  world  are,  (I  wish  I 
could  not  with  justice  say)  generally  prone;  if  you  will  let  them  know 
what  they  are,  you  will  oblige,  &c. 

1.  Vanity.  This  vice  is,  if  possible,  more  absurd  in  woman  kind 
than  in  the  other  sex.  Men  have  bodily  strength,  authority,  learning, 
and  such  like  pretences  for  puffing  themselves  up  with  pride.  But 
woman's  only  peculiar  boast  is  beauty.  For  virtue  and  good  sense  are 
never  the  subjects  of  vanity.  There  is  no  endowment  of  less  conse- 
quence than  elegance  of  form  and  outside.  A  mass  of  flesh  and  blood, 
humors  and  impurities,  covered  over  with  a  well  colored  skin,  is  the 
definition  of  beauty.  Whether  is  this  more  properly  a  matter  of  vanity 
or  mortification  ?  Were  it  incomparably  more  excellent  than  it  is, 
nothing  can  be  more  absurd  than  to  be  proud  of  what  one  has  no  man- 
ner of  hand  in  getting,  but  is  wholly  the  gift  of  Heaven.  A  woman 
26 


302  ESSEX    JOURNAL. 

may  as  well  be  proud  of  the  lilies  of  the  field,  or  the  tulips  of  the  gar- 
den, as  her  own  face  ;  they  are  both  the  work  of  the  same  hand  — 
equally  out  of  human  power  to  give  or  to  preserve ;  equally  trifling  and 
despicable,  when  compared  with  what  is  substantially  excellent ;  equally 
frail  and  perishing. 

2.  Affectation  is  a  vice,  capable  of  disgracing  beauty,  worse  than 
pimples  or  the  small  pox.  I  have  often  seen  ladies  in  assemblies  and 
public  places,  of  the  most  exquisite  forms,  render  themselves,  l)y  aflec- 
tation  and  visible  conceit,  too  odious  to  be  looked  at  without  disgust, 
who,  by  a  modest  and  truly  fenuile  behavior,  might  have  commanded 
tlie  admiration  of  everj-  eye.  But  I  shall  say  less  upon  this  head,  in 
consideration  that  it  is  (generally  speaking)  to  our  sex  that  female 
affectation  is  to  be  charged.  A  woman  cannot,  indeed,  become  com- 
pletely foolish  or  vicious  without  our  assistance. 

3.  Talkativoiess.  This,  in  either  sex,  is  generally  a  proof  of  vanity 
or  folly ;  but  is  in  woman  kind,  especially  in  companj^  with  men,  and, 
above  all,  with  men  of  understanding  and  learning,  wholly  out  of 
character,  and  particularly  disagreeable  to  people  of  sense.  If  we 
appeal  either  to  reason,  scripture,  or  universal  consent,  we  shall  find  a 
degree  of  submission  to  the  male  sex,  to  be  an  indispensable  part  of  the 
fi-nialc  character :  And,  to  set  up  for  an  equality  with  the  sex,  to  Avhich 
nature  has  given  tlic  advantage,  and  formed  for  authority  and  action,  is 
opposing  Nature,  —  which  is  never  done  innocently. 

4.  Dress.  Too  great  delight  in  dress  and  finery,  V)y  the  expense  of 
time  and  monc}',  which  they  occasion  in  some  instances,  to  a  degree 
beyond  all  bounds  of  decency  and  common  sense,  tends  naturally  to 
sink  a  woman  to  the  lowest  pitch  of  contempt,  amongst  all  those  of 
either  sex,  who  have  capacity  enough  to  put  two  thoughts  together.  A 
creature,  who  spends  its  whole  time  in  dressing,  prating,  gaming,  and 
gadding,  is  a  being,  —  originally  indeed  of  the  rational  make,  but  who 
has  sunk  itself  beneath  its  rank,  and  is  to  be  considered  at  present,  as 
nearly  on  a  level  with  the  monkey  species. 

If  this  should  have  the  desired  effect,  you  may  possibly,  in  some 
future  paper,  hear  more  from  A  Friend  to  the  Public. 

Newbury-Port,  April  4,  1774. 

Whether  this  lecture  had  the  "  desired  effect "  or  not, 
is  not  to  be  ascertained  from  the  very  imperfect  file  of 
the  Journal. 

While  Tinges  was  connected  with  this  paper,  it  was 
well   conducted,   and  was   the  channel,  through  which 


TINGES,    LUNT    AND    MTCALL.  303 

some  able  writers  communicated  with  the  public.  After 
it  fell  into  the  hands  of  Mycall,  the  writers,  who  had 
aided  the  former  editor,  seemed  to  abandon  it  altogether. 
The  files  in  my  possession,  are  very  imperfect ;  and  it  is 
rare  to  meet  with  an  editorial  paragraph  of  any  merit,  or 
a  communication  worthy  of  notice. 

Of  those,  who  were  connected  with  the  Journal  as 
editors,  little  is  known.  Thomas  Tinges  was  a  printer, 
and  served  his  apprenticeship,  in  part,  with  Fleming, 
and  the  rest  with  Thomas.  He  was  a  native  of  Boston. 
From  Newbury  port,  he  went  to  Baltimore,  and  thence 
to  sea  ;  but  it  is  not  known  that  he  ever  returned. 

Ezra  Lunt  was  a  native  of  Newburyport,  and  was 
the  proprietor  of  a  line  of  stages,  when  he  became  a 
partner  with  Tinges.  He  knew  nothing,  previously,  of 
the  printing  business,  and  probably  acquired  no  know- 
ledge of  it  during  the  short  time  he  was  connected  with 
the  Journal.  During  the  Revolutionary  war,  he  entered 
the  army,  and  afterward  removed  to  Ohio. 

John  Mycall  was  not  educated  as  a  printer.  He 
was  an  Englishman  by  birth,  and  kept  a  school  in  New- 
buryport before  he  purchased  the  Journal.  He  published 
the  paper  about  twenty  years  ;  afterwards  purchased  and 
resided  on  a  farm  in  the  county  of  Worcester.  From 
thence  he  removed  to  Cambridge,  where  he  died  about 
the  year  1826. 


THE   INDEPENDENT   LEDGER 
AMERICAN    ADVERTISER. 


On  Monday,  June  15,  1778,  Draper  &  Folsom  laid 
before  the  public  the  first  number  of  a  paper  with  this 
title,  in  the  centre  of  which  was  this  device :  — 


Under  the  device  was  the  motto,  "  All  hands  with  one 
inflamed  and  enlightened  Heart." 

It  was  proposed"  to  continue  the  publication  on  Mon- 
days, in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  "  many  gentle- 


DRAPER    AND    FOLSOIW.  305 

men,"  there  being  two  on  Thursday.  In  a  very  respect- 
ful and  modest  address  the  publishers  said,  —  "We 
mean  not  to  raise  and  deceive  the  expectations  of  the 
public,  by  pompous  pretensions ;  but  we  dare  to  pro- 
mise that  we  will  spare  no  pains  or  cost  to  procure  the 
freshest  advices  from  Europe  and  all  parts  of  America, 
which  we  will  deliver  to  the  public  in  a  faithful  manner 
and  clear  arrangement;  doing  every  thing  in  our  power 

to  render  this  paper  both  useful  and  entertaining 

We  are  young  beginners,  and  hope  for  the  candor  and 
countenance  of  the  community,"  &c.  &c. 

As  might  be  supposed,  from  the  device  and  motto  at 
the  head  of  the  paper,  the  publishers  were  pure  Whigs. 
There  is  very  little  of  their  own  composition  in  their 
columns,  but  what  there  is,  indicates  their  entire  devo- 
tion to  the  independence  of  the  Colonies.  Their  selec- 
tions were  made  from  the  best  sources,  and  many  of  the 
ori""inal  communications,  are  productions  worthy  of  the 
times,  and  of  the  character,  which  the  publishers  pro- 
fessed to  maintain. 

In    one   of   the   early   numbers   of   the   Ledger,   the 
annexed  article  appears  as  a  communication  :  — 
Messrs.  Draper  &  Folsom, 

I  am  no  great  writer  or  talker,  but  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
much,  and  now  and  then  give  out  a  watchword  for  the  safety  of  my 
neighbors.  Formerly,  the  first  militaiy  woi-d  given  to  the  soldiers  at 
tlieir  exercise,  was.  Take  Heed!  afterwards,  it  was  changed  to  Have  a 
Care !  now,  it  is.  Attention .'  I  see  no  difference  in  the  sense,  but,  not 
to  be  out  of  the  fashion,  I  will  take  the  last. 

Attentiox  !  my  fellow-citizens,  —  to  your  ru?e;-s  of  every  order;  for, 
if  you  do  not  attend  to  them,  they  will  attend  to  themselves,  and  not  to 
you.  No  free  people  ever  long  presciwed  their  liberty  and  happiness, 
without  watching  those,*who  held  the  reins  of  government. 

Attention  !  —  to  the  men,  that  handle  public  money,  either  for  civil 
or  military  service ;  for  the  gridiron,  over  which  it  is  told,  often  enriches 
26* 


306  THE    INDEPENDENT    LEDGER. 

individuals  to  the  impoverishment  and  ruiu  of  the  community.  Many 
think,  perhaps,  that  paper  money  is  not  so  apt  to  slip  through  as  dollars 
were ;  but  they  arc  mistaken ;  some  men  can  double  their  money,  and 
slide  it  through  a  chink  where  a  dollar  would  not  enter. 

AxTEXTiON !  —  to  the  form  of  government  you  may  adopt;  for,  if 
you  do  not  look  to  that,  posterity  will  look  back  upon  you  with  curses, 
and  all  the  world  will  look  upon  you  as  a  pack  of  fools,  who  have  thrown 
away  the  fairest  oi)portunity,  which  any  people  ever  liad  to  secure  their 
o^vn  lil)Ci-ty  and  happiness.  Look  then,  that  rotation  in  office  be  not 
left  out  of  your  constitution.*  It  was  designedly  omitted  in  that,  lately 
proposed,  though  wisely  adopted  by  Congress,  and  almost  all  the  other 
states.  A  few  men,  continued  in  the  most  important  places,  for  a  suc- 
cession of  years,  may  so  extend  their  connections  and  influence,  as  to 
become  really^  though  not  openly,  masters  of  the  State. 

Attention  !  —  to  the  accumulation  of  offices  on  one  man.  Nothing 
is  more  unreasonable  in  itself,  nothing  more  contrary  to  the  genius  of  a 
free  government,  than  that  one,  equally  well  qualified,  should  have  no 
public  employment,  while  others  have  more  than  they  can  properly 
attend  to.  In  the  last  case,  thcj-,  who  confer  them,  want  wisdom;  they, 
who  accept  them,  want  modesty. 

Attention  !  —  to  the  arrny  of  your  enemies  in  every  quarter;  for,  be 
assured,  whether  you  watch  thrm  or  not,  they  watch  you,  and  would  be 
glad,  in  some  i)lacc  or  other,  to  catch  you  napping. 

Attention  !  —  to  your  oivn  army,  that  it  be  well  filled  up ;  well  fed, 
well  clothed,  well  paid  ;  and  then,  that  the  capable,  tlie  active,  the  brave, 
be  at  least  well  honored ;  and  the  incapable,  negligent,  and  cowardly,  be 
well  despised.  But  watch,  with  all  your  eyes,  that,  in  no  place,  and 
upon  no  occasion,  the  military  encroach  upon  the  civil  power. 

Attention  !  —  to  your  naval  affairs,  and  in  what  manner  they  are 
conducted,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  department.  Observe  with 
what  expedition  your  ships  are  fitted  out ;  when  they  sail ;  with  what 
capacity  their  commanders  and  officers  behave;  what  service  they  per- 
form in  proportion  to  their  force;  and  what  public  rewards  and  punish- 
ments are  dispensed  according  to  their  different  behavior.  Let  those  be 
extolled  even  to  the  stars,  who  support  the  honor  of  your  flag,  your  new 
constellation,  the  thirteen  stars  ;  and  those,  who  stain  it,  be  overwhelmed 
with  confusion,  and  sink  into  darkness. 

Attention!  —  to  your  commissaries  of  prisoners,  that  they  treat  the 
unfortunate  men  under  their  care  with  all  the  humanity  and  indulgence, 

*  This  was  written  wliile  tlie  Constitution  of  tlie  Commonwealth  wa?  under 
consideration. 


DRAPER    AND    FOLSOM.  307 

consistent  with  the  public  safety,  and  no  more ;  that  the  prisoners,  we 
have,  be  faithfully  exchanged  for  the  redemption  of  our  brethren ;  that 
no  clandestine  trade  with  our  enemies  be  carried  on  in  our  flags,  &c.  and 
nothing  done,  that  may  wear  the  least  appearance  of  a  secret  bargain, 
between  a  British  ofiicer,  tory  merchant,  or  mercenary  Whig,  and  an 
American  commissary. 

Attention!  —  to  British  commissaries,  British  insinuations,  and 
British  arts ;  and  take  care  that  their  gold  be  not  more  fatal  to  you  than 
their  lead.  The  last  has  slain  its  thousands,  the  first  may  purchase 
chains  for  millions.  Observe  where  it  is  like  to  go ;  mark  its  effects  in 
every  order ;  and  let  the  sovereign  remedy  be  ever  kept,  a  wakeful 
attention  in  the  body  of  the  people.  No  people,  in  their  senses,  would  re- 
fuse a  good  peace;  but,  take  care,  that,  in  the  shape  of  peace,  you  do 
not  embrace  the  most  miserable  bondage,  and  without  a  remedy. 

Attention!  —  to  the  freedom  of  the  Press.  Some  people,  who 
have  talked  for  it,  who  have  wrote  for  it,  may,  upon  a  change  of  situa- 
tion, be  ready  to  wince  at  it.  This  shows  the  constant  necessity  for  it. 
Never  let  the  Press  be  over-awed,  either  by  public  or  private  persons. 
Only  let  truth  and  decency  be  preserved,  and  then,  my  Countrymen, 
speak  freely,  write  freely,  of  all  men  and  of  all  measures.  If  you  at- 
tend to  this,  and  some  other  things  I  have  hinted  at,  you  will  secure  all, 
that  is  worth  your  Attention.  Bob  Centinel. 

The  latest  number  of  this  paper,  which  I  have  seen 
is  dated  December  29,  J  783.  Whether  it  was  con- 
tinued to  a  later  period  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain. 
No  notice  is  given  in  that  paper  of  any  proposed  dis- 
continuance. A  few  weeks  before  that  date,  the  name 
of  Draper  is  dropped  from  the  imprint,  and  the  remain- 
ing numbers  appear  in  the  name  of  John  W.  Folsom, 
only. 

Folsom  had  a  printing-office  and  bookstore  in  Union- 
street.  The  building  was  burned,  and  most  of  his 
property  destroyed  in  1797.  He  was  the  first  Secretary 
of  the  Massachusetts  Charitable  Mechanic  Association, 
and  some  time  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Health  in 
Boston. 


THE   CONTINENTAL   JOURNAL 

AND 

WEEKLY  ADVERTISER. 


The  partnership  of  Edes  h  Gill  having  been  dissolved 
and  the  Boston  Gazette  remaining  the  property  of  Edes, 
Gill  began  the  publication  of  a  new  paper,  on  the  30th 
of  May,  1776,  under  the  title  of  the  Continental  Jour- 
nal and  Weekly  Advertiser.  In  a  brief  and  modest 
address  to  the  public,  he  said  he  had  complied  with  the 
solicitation  of  his  friends,  in  proposing  to  furnish  the 
public  with  a  newspaper  of  intelligence  every  Thursday, 
])rovided  it  should  meet  with  their  approbation  and  en- 
couragement. He  chose  "  to  omit  all  pompous  repre- 
sentations and  promises  respecting  his  intended  publica- 
tion, and  only  engaged  his  utmost  fidelity  in  collecting 
and  printing  the  newest  and  best  accounts  of  things 
that  could  be  obtained,  and  gratefully  to  accept  and 
insert  any  original  pieces  that  are  decent  and  worthy  the 
public  notice."  The  motto  of  the  paper  was  "  CX7°°  The 
entire  prosperity  of  every  state  depends  upon  the  disci- 
pline of  its  armies.     Kijig  of  Prussia.'^ 

In  the  way  of  news,  the  Journal  was  well  conducted. 
All  important  state  papers,  whether  emanating  from  the 
Continental    Congress,  or   from   state   conventions   and 


JOHN    GILL.  309 

legislatures,  were  promptly  laid  before  the  public. 
There  is  very  little  in  the  files  of  the  Journal,  that  ap- 
pears to  have  been  written  by  the  editor.  There  are 
numerous  original  communications,  such  as  the  public 
affairs  naturally  called  forth.  Useful  and  judicious  se- 
lections from  English  papers  and  books  were  often 
inserted.  The  whole  of  Robertson's  History  of  Amer- 
ica was  published  during  the  years  1784  and  1785. 
Gill  was  a  sound  Whig,  but,  it  was  said,  he  did  not 
possess  the  political  tact  and  energy,  that  characterized 
his  former  partner,  Edes,  and  which  had  raised  the  repu- 
tation of  the  Boston  Gazette.  He  was  industrious,  con- 
stantly in  the  printing-office  working  at  the  case  or  press, 
as  occasions  might  demand. 

John  Gill  was  born  in  Charlestown,  served  a  regular 
apprenticeship  in  Boston  with  Samuel  Kneeland,  and 
married  one  of  Kneeland's  daughters.  He  was  a  brother 
of  Moses  Gill,  —  who,  after  the  Revolution,  was  several 
years  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Massachusetts.  When 
Edes  removed  to  Watertown,  during  the  siege, — as 
has  been  related,  —  Gill  remained  in  Boston,  but  "  did  no 
business,  and  thought  it  prudent  to  confine  himself  to  his 
own  house.  He  had,  fortunately,  acquired  a  competency 
for  the  support  of  his  family  under  that  trial."  He  con- 
tinued the  publication  of  the  Continental  Journal  till 
some  time  in  the  year  1785,  when  he  sold  the  right  of 
it  to  J.  D.  Griffith.  He  died  on  the  25th  of  August, 
1785.  The  Journal  which  announced  his  death,  says, 
— "  Capt.  John  Gill,  for  disseminating  principles  de- 
structive of  tyranny,  suffered  during  the  siege  of  this 
town,  in  1775,  what  many  other  printers  were  threat- 
ened with,  a  cruel  imprisonment.     He,  however,  was  so 


310  CONTINENTAL    JOURNAL. 

fortunate  as  to  survive  the  conflict ;  but  had  the  mortifi- 
cation, lately,  of  seeing  the  press  ready  to  be  shackled 
by  a  stamp  act,  fabricated  in  his  native  state  ;  he,  there- 
fore resigned  his  business,  not  choosing  to  submit  to  a 
measure,  which  Britain  artfully  adopted  as  the  founda- 
tion of  her  intended  tyranny  in  America."* 

In  one  of  the  early  numbers  of  the  Journal  is  a  Song, 
called  "  The  Soldier's  Sentimental  Toast,"  a  few  stan- 
zas of  which  are  annexed.  From  the  date,  it  may  be 
inferred   that   the   Sone:   was   taken   from  a  New- York 


paper 


Come,  ye  valiant  Sons  of  Thunder, 
Crnsli  to  death  your  haughty  foes  ; 

Burst  their  slavish  bands  asunder, 
Till  no  Toiy  dare  oppose. 

Haughty  tyrants  fain  would  mlc  us. 

With  an  altsolute  control ; 
But  they  never  thus  shall  fool  us, 

Cries  the  brave,  the  martial  soul. 

'Tis  for  right  we  are  contending,  — 

Children,  sweethearts,  wives,  and  friends  ; 

And  our  holy  faith  defending 
From  delusion,  which  impends. 


O  the  happy  scene  before  us ! 

Happy,  who  in  battle  dies ! 
See  his  spirit  rise  victorious,  — 

Angels  guard  it  thi-ough  the  skies. 

*See  TlioDias's  History  of  Printing,  vol.  i.  345.  The  only  file  of  the  Continental 
Journal,  that  I  have  seen,  is  in  the  library  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 
It  is  complete  to  the  end  of  the  year  1784,  and  contains  no  number  later  than  that 
date.  Whether  the  "cruel  imprisonment,"  mentioned  in  the  extract  from  the 
Journal  means  any  thing  more  than  what  is  stated  by  Mr.  Thomas,  that  Gill 
"thought  it  prudent  to  confine  himself  to  his  own  house,"  I  am  not  able  to  ascer- 
tain. 


JOHN    GILL.  311 

Happy,  living,  —  happy,  dying— 

If  vrc  live,  our  rights  we  gain ; 
If  we  die,  our  souls,  when  flying, 

riy  from  slavery,  grief,  and  pain. 

Shall  we  then  behave  like  dastards  ? 

Shall  we  yield  in  such  a  cause  ? 
To  be  duped  by  tyrants'  bastards  1 

No,  —  forbid  it.  Nature's  laws. 

No,  my  boys,  we  '11  act  like  heroes, 

Order,  right,  and  tnith  maintain, 
And  convince  these  modern  Neroes 

That  we  '11  fight,  nor  fight  in  vain. 

So  we  shall  regain  our  freedom, 

And,  in  freedom,  freely  live  ; 
Grant  our  alms  to  those,  who  need  'em,  — 

What  is  right  we  '11  freely  give. 

To  conclude  — Let 's  fill  our  glasses,  — 

Drink  a  health  to  soldiers  brave  ; 
Leave  to  chains  those  impious  asses, 

^\Tio  their  country  would  enslave. 

Health  to  every  valiant  soldier ; 

Health  to  those,  who  lead  their  bands  ; 
May  their  boldness,  waxing  bolder,  ^ 

Cnish  their  foes  beneath  their  hands. 

New-York,  May  21,  1776. 

A  Poem,  written  by  Thomas  Dawes,  on  the  death  of 
James  Otis,  who  was  killed  by  hghtning,  at  Andover,  in 
1783,  was  originally  published  in  the  Continental  Jour- 
nal. The  following  are  the  opening  and  concluding 
lines  of  this  Poem :  — 

When  flushed  with  conquest  and  elate  with  pride, 
Britannia's  monarch  Heaven's  high  will  defied, 
And,  bent  on  blood,  by  lust  of  rule  inclined 
With  odious  chains  to  vex  the  freeborn  mind,  — 
On  these  young  shores  set  up  unjust  command. 
And  spread  the  slaves  of  office  round  the  land ; 


312  CONTINENTAL    JOURNAL. 

Then  Otis  rose,  and,  great  in  patriot  fame, 
To  listening  crowds  resistance  dared  proclaim. 
From  soul  to  soul  the  bright  idea  ran, 
The  fire  of  freedom  flew  from  man  to  man  ; 
His  pen,  like  Sydney's,  made  the  doctrine  known, 
His  tongue,  like  Tally's  shook  a  tyrant's  throne : 
Then  men  grew  bold,  and,  in  the  public  eye. 
The  right  divine  of  monarchs  dared  to  try ; 
Light  shone  on  all,  despotic  darkness  fled, 
And,  for  a  sentiment*  a  nation  bled. 
*    *    *    *    * 

Hark !  the  deep  thunders  echo  round  the  skies ! 
On  wings  of  flame  the  eternal  errand  flies ; 
One  chosen  charitable  bolt  is  sped, 
And  Otis  mingles  with  the  glorious  dead. 

*  "  No  taxation  without  representation." 


THE   CONNECTICUT   JOURNAL, 


NEW-HAVEN  POST-BOY. 


The  first  number  of  this  paper  was  published  in 
October,  1767,  by  Thomas  and  Samuel  Green,  and  was 
continued  by  them  till  February,  1799.  They  were 
grandsons  of  the  first  Timothy  Green  of  New-London, 
and  were  born  in  that  place.  In  1775,  the  second  title 
of  the  paper  was  dropped.  Samuel  Green  died  in 
1799,  and  the  publication  was  continued  by  Thomas 
Green  and  Son,  till  1809,  when  it  passed  into  the  posses- 
sion of  other  proprietors.  It  had  previously  undergone 
many  changes  in  size  and  typography  ;  and  since  that 
period  has  changed  owners,  I  believe,  more  than  once, 
and,  in  size  and  mechanical  execution,  has  corresponded 
with  the  improvements  that  have  taken  place  in  cotem- 
porary  journals. 

A  few  numbers  of  this  paper  are  in  the  library  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  The  earliest  is  No. 
17,  dated  February  12,  1768:  and  the  latest  is  No. 
806,  April  10,1783.  Some  of  these  fugitives  are  sheets 
smaller  than  common  letter-paper ;  others  are  respecta- 
ble demy.  That  it  was  not  a  source  of  great  wealth  to 
the  proprietors,  previous  to  the  Revolution,  may  be  con- 
27 


314  CONNECTICUT     JOURNAL. 

eluded  from  a  Notice,  in  the  paper  of  April  12,  1773, 
which  says,  —  "The  Printers  are  sorry,  they  can  with 
truth  inform  the  public,  that  they  have  not,  for  this  year 
past,  received  from  all  the  customers  for  this  Journal,  so 
much  money  as  they  have  expended  for  the  blank  paper, 
on  which  it  has  been  printed  ;  and  that  they  shall  be 
under  the  necessity  of  reducing  it  to  its  original  size  and 
price,  unless  subscribers  for  it  are  more  punctual  in  their 
payments.  The  next  week's  paper,  (No.  286,)  com- 
pletes one  year  since  its  enlargement,  and  to  which  time 
all  those,  who  are  indebted,  (whose  accounts  are  of  more 
than  one  year's  standing)  are  earnestly  requested  to  make 
immediate  payment  to  the  Printers." 

From  the  small  number  of  the  papers  to  which  I  have 
had  access,  copious  extracts,  as  specimens  of  the  talent 
of  its  editor  and  contributors,  cannot  be  expected.  The 
editors  were  VVliigs,  and  the  original  political  matter  is 
strongly  impregnated  with  whig  principle.  The  annexed 
Song  is  apparently  original  :  — 

THE  EAKLY  EISEE. 

The  man,  who,  at  day-breaking,  breaks  off  his  rest, 
And,  in  spite  of  its  softness,  leaps  out  of  his  nest, 
Still  finds  to  his  comfort,  in  all  sorts  of  weather, 
His  head  clear  as  ciystal,  his  heart  light  as  feather, 
Deny  down,  &c. 

If  the  clouds  be  dispersed,  and  th'  horizon  show  fair. 
With  what  pleasure  abroad  he  breathes  the  fresh  air ! 
But  if  rainy  or  dull,  how  sincere  his  enjoyment 
^  In  following,  at  home,  his  lawful  employment ! 

"When  breakfast  time  comes,  you  may  see  him  at  board, 

Regaling  on  whate'er  his  house  will  afford ; 

For  nought  to  his  stomach  goes  ever  amiss, 

Be  it  roast,  baked,  or  boiled,  or  fowl,  flesh,  or  fish. 


CONNECTICUT    JOURNAL.  315 

With  choicest  of  all  earthly  blessings  aliotmcling, 
A  soundness  of  body,  a  mind  that  is  sound  in, 
Through  life's  shifting  scenes,  whether  serious  or  gay, 
His  part  of  the  drama  he  with  spirit  can  play. 

No  sickness  comes  near  him,  nor  vapor,  nor  spleen, 
AVith  nights  aU  refreshing,  with  days  all  serene, 
Ilis  years  roll  along  as  a  still  summer  wave, 
Till,  like  well-ripened  fruit,  he  drops  into  the  grave. 


THE   NEW-LONDON   GAZETTE. 


This  was  the  second  paper  printed  in  New-London, 
and  was  first  issued  in  ]\oveniber,  1763.  The  printer 
was  Timothy  Green,  the  third  printer  of  that  name  in 
that  place.  It  was  a  sheet  of  the  foolscap  size,  four 
pages,  folio.  At  first  it  had  a  cut  of  the  king's  arms  at 
the  head;  but  this  was  banished  in  December,  1773, 
and  the  title  was  altered  to  Connecticut  Gazette.  Thirty 
years  after  its  first  appearance,  the  paper  was  enlarged 
to  a  royal  sheet ;  and  about  the  same  time,  its  original 
proprietor  resigned  it  to  the  hands  of  his  son,  Samuel 
Green,  in  whose  possession  it  remained  for  many  years. 

My  earliest  recollections  of  newspapers  are  those  of 
the  Connecticut  Gazette.  It  was  in  that  paper  that  I 
first  saw  the  picture  of  a  ship,  and  that  was  one  which 
stood  at  the  head  of  Allen's  Marine  List.  There  I 
read  the  debates  on  the  Federal  Constitution,  the  ac- 
counts of  Shays's  Rebellion,  the  beginning  of  the  French 
Revolution,  and  the  beheading  of  Louis  XVI.  But  that, 
which  made  the  strongest  and  inefiaceable  impression, 
was  the  trial  of  Warren  Hastings,  and  the  narration  of  the 
atrocities  he  perpetrated  in  India.  The  remonstrance  of 
the  wife  of  Almas  Ali  Cawn,  addressed  to  that  robber 
and  murderer,  had  a  most  powerful  effect  on  my  imagina- 
tion, and  a  term  of  more  than  sixty  years  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  wear  it  out. 


TIMOTHY    GREEN.  317 

Some  good  writers  appear  to  have  aided  in  conducting 
the  Gazette,  during  the  years  that  preceded  the  passage 
of  the  Stamp  Act,  and  the  progress  of  the  Revolution. 
One  of  their  communications  here  follows,  published  in 
1765  :  — 

....  Quid  non  MortaUa  Pectora  cogis 
Auri  sacra  Fames.  Vikgil. 

Since  the  late  Impositions  on  the  American  Colonies  by  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Great-Britain,  our  Papers  have  been  filled  with  woeful  Ex- 
clamations against  Slavery  and  arbitrary  power.  One  would  have 
thought,  by  tliis  mighty  outcry,  that  all  America,  to  a  Man,  had  a  noble 
Sense  of  Freedom,  and  would  risque  their  Lives  and  Fortunes  in  the 
Defence  of  it.  Had  this  been  really  the  Spirit  of  the  Colonies,  they 
would  have  deserved  Commiseration  and  Relief. 

Nothing  can  fill  a  generous  Breast  with  greater  Indignation  than  to 
see  a  free,  brave,  and  virtuous  People  unjustly  sunk  and  debased  by 
Tyranny  and  Oppression.  But  who  can  pity  the  heartless  "Wretches 
whose  only  Fortitude  is  in  the  Tongue  and  Pen  1  If  we  may  judge  of 
the  whole  by  those  who  have  been  already  tampered  with,  the  Colonies 
are  now  ripe  for  Slavery  and  incapable  of  freedom. 

Have  three  hundred  Pounds  a  Year,  or  even  a  more  trifling  Consid- 
eration, been  found  sufficient  to  debauch  from  their  Interest  those  who 
have  been  intrusted  with  the  most  important  Concerns  by  the  Colonies  1 
If  so,  0  Britain !  heap  on  your  Burthens  without  Fear  of  Disturbance. 
We  shall  bear  your  Yoke  as  tamely  as  the  overloaded  Ass.  If  we 
bray  with  the  Pain,  we  shall  not  have  the  Heart  to  throw  off  the  Load, 
or  spurn  the  Rider.  Have  many  already  become  the  Tools  of  your 
Oppression  ?  and  are  Numbers  now  cringing  to  become  the  Tools  of 
those  Tools,  to  slay  their  wretched  Brethren  ?  'Tis  impossible ! 
But  alas !  if  so,  who  could  have  thought  it !  .  .  .  .,  Those  who 
lately  set  themselves  up  for  Patriots  and  boasted  a  generous  Love 
for  their  Country,  are  they  now  suing  (0  Disgrace  to  humanity!) 
are  thet  now  creeping  after  the  Profits  of  collecting  the  Un- 
righteous American  Stamp  Duty !  If  this  is  credible,  what  may  we  not 
believe  ?  Where  are  the  Mercenary  Publicans  who  delight  in  Nothing 
so  much  as  the  dearest  Blood  of  their  Country  1  Will  the  Cries  of 
your  despairing,  dying  Brethren  be  Music  pleasing  to  your  Ears?  If 
so,  go  on,  bend  the  Knee  to  your  Master  Horseleach,  and  beg  a  share 
in  the  Pillage  of  your  Country. — No,  you'll  say,  I  don't  delight  in  the 
Ruin  of  my  Country,  but,  since  ^tis  decreed  she  must  fall,  who  can  blame  me 
for  taking  a  Part  in  the  Plunder  ?  Tenderly  said !  why  did  you  not 
27* 


318  NEW -LONDON  GAZETTE. 

rather  say,  —  If  my  father  must  die,  ivhocan  accuse  me  as  defective  in  filial 
Duty,  in  becoming  his  Executioner,  that  so  much  of  the  Estate,  at  least,  as 
goes  to  the  Hangman,  may  be  retained  in  the  Family. 

Never  pretend,  whoever  you  are,  that  freely  undertake  to  put  in  Exe- 
cution a  Law  prejudicial  to  your  Country,  tliatyou  have  the  least  Spark 
of  Affection  for  her.  Rather  own  you  would  gladlj'  sec  her  in  Flames, 
if  you  might  be  allowed  to  pillage  with  Impunity. 

But  had  you  not  rather  these  Duties  should  be  collected  by  your  Brethren, 
than  by  Foreigners  ?  No !  vile  Miscreant !  indeed  we  had  not.  The 
same  rapacious  and  base  Spirit  which  prompted  you  to  undertake  the 
ignominious  Task,  will  urge  you  on  to  every  cruel  and  oppressive  Plea- 
sure. You  will  serve  to  put  us  continually  in  Mind  of  our  abject  Con- 
dition. A  Foreigner  we  could  more  cheerfully  endure,  because  he 
might  be  supposed  not  to  feel  our  Distresses ;  but  for  one  of  our 
Ftllow  Slavrs,  who  equally  shares  in  our  Fains,  to  rise  up  and  beg  the 
Favour  of  inflicting  them,  is  intolerable.  The  only  Advantage  that 
can  be  hoped  for  from  this  is,  that  it  will  rouse  the  most  indolent  of  us 
to  a  Sense  of  our  Slavery,  and  make  us  use  our  strongest  Efforts  to  be 
free.  Some,  I  hope  there  are,  notwithstanding  your  base  Defection, 
that  feel  the  Patriotic  Flame,  glowing  in  their  Bosoms,  and  would 
esteem  it  glorious  to  die  for  their  country !  From  such  as  these  you  are 
to  expect  perpetual  Opposition.  These  are  Men  whose  Existence  and 
Importance  does  not  depend  on  Gold.  "When,  therefore,  you  have  pil- 
laged from  them  their  Estates,  they  will  still  live  and  blast  your  wicked 
Designs,  by  all  laiiful  Means.  You  are  to  look  for  Nothing  but  the 
Hatred  and  Detestiition  of  all  the  Good  and  Virtuous.  And  as  you 
live  on  the  Distresses,  you  will  inherit  the  Curses  of  AVidows  and  Or- 
phans. The  present  Generation  will  treat  you  as  the  Authors  of  their 
Misery,  and  Posterity  will  pursue  your  Memory  with  the  most  terrible 
Imprecations.  CATO. 

There  is  a  small  collection  of  stray  numbers  of  the 
Connecticut  Gazette  in  the  library  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society,  reaching  from  its  beginning  to  1783. 
They  are  all  in  one  volume.  They  are  chiefly  filled 
with  communications  in  favor  of  the  freedom  of  the 
country  from  British  misrule,  —  many  of  them  original, 
and  many  from  the  Boston  Gazette,  and  other  whig 
journals.  The  editor  appears  to  have  taken  great  inter- 
est in  all  the  patriotic  proceedings  in  Massachusetts,  and 


TIMOTHY    GREEN.  319 

to  have  felt  much  sympathy  with  the  Bostonians  during 
the  Siege  of  their  town  hy  the  British  army.  The  Song 
annexed  appeared  as  original  in  the  Gazette  of  February 
23,  1776.  The  sentiment  is  a  sufficient  apology  for  the 
defects  in  the  poetry  :  — 

Smile,  Massachusetts,  smile ; 

Thy  virtue  still  outbraves 

The  frowns  of  Britain's  isle, 

And  rage  of  home-born  slaves. 
Thy  free-born  sons  disdain  their  ease. 
When  purchased  by  their  liberties. 

Thy  Genius,  once  the  pride 

Of  Britain's  ancient  isle, 

Brought  o'er  the  raging  tide. 

By  our  forefather's  toil ; 
In  spite  of  N — th's  despotic  power. 
Shines  glorious  on  this  western  shore. 

In  Hancock's  generous  mind 

Awakes  the  noble  strife. 

Which  so  conspicuous  shined 

In  gallant  Sydney's  life  : 
Wliile  in  its  cause  the  hero  bled. 
Immortal  honors  crowned  his  head. 

Let  zeal  your  breasts  inspire ; 

Let  wisdom  guide  your  plans  ; 

'Tis  not  your  cause  entire 

On  doubtful  conflict  hangs  : 
The  fixte  of  this  vast  continent, 
And  unborn  millions  share  th'  event. 

To  close  the  gloomy  scenes 

Of  this  alarming  day, 

A  happy  union  reigns 

Through  wide  America, 
While  awful  Wisdom  hourly  waits 
To  adorn  the  councils  of  her  states. 

Brave  Washington  arrives, 

AiTayed  in  warlike  fame ;  — 

(While  in  his  soul  revives 

Great  Marlboro's  martial  flame  ;  ) 


320  NEW-LONDON    GAZETTE. 

To  lead  your  conquering  armies  on 
To  lasting  glory  and  renown. 
To  aid  the  glorious  cause 
Experienced  Lee  is  come, 
Renowned  in  foreign  wars, 
A  pati'iot  at  home. 
While  valiant  Putnam's  warlike  deeds 
Amongst  the  foe  a  terror  spreads. 
Let  Britons  proudly  boast 
"  That  theu'  two  thousand  slaves 
Can  drive  our  numerous  host 
And  make  us  all  their  slaves." 
Wliile  twice  six  tliousand  quake  with  fear, 
Nor  dare  without  their  lines  appeal-. 
Kind  Heaven  has  deigned  to  own 
Our  bold  resistance  just  ; 
Since  murderous  G — e  begun 
The  bloody  carnage  first, 
Near  ten  to  one  has  been  their  cost. 
For  each  American  we  've  lost. 
Stand  fii-m  in  your  defence, 
Like  Sons  of  Freedom  fight : 
Your  haughty  foes  convince 
That  you  '11  maintain  your  right. 
Defiance  bid  to  tyrant's  frown. 
And  glory  will  yotir  valor  crown. 


THE   HERALD   OF  FREEDOM, 


AND    THE 


FEDERAL  ADVERTISER. 


On  the  fifteenth  of  September,  1788,  Edmund  Free- 
man and  Loring  Andrews,  issued  a  paper  in  Boston, 
with  the  title  recited  above.  It  was  pubHshed  twice  a 
week,  on  Monday  and  Thursday.  In  tiie  centre  of  the 
head  was  a  cut,  on  which  Justice,  Wisdom,  Liberty,  and 
Fortitude  were  represented  by  four  standing  figures,  each 
holding  its  appropriate  emblem.  The  first  number  con- 
tains no  exposition  of  the  editor's  principles,  nor  any 
notice  of  the  intended  mode  of  publication.  The  second 
number  has  a  note  of  five  or  six  lines,  containing  a  re- 
quest of  "  such  of  their  patrons,  as  can  make  it  con- 
venient, to  advance  a  quarter  or  half  a  year's  pay  ;  —  if 
they  can  do  this,  without  detriment  to  themselves,  they 
will  confer  a  great  obligation  on  the  editors."  The 
paper  was  well  supplied  with  original  communications, 
on  morals  and  manners,  religion  and  politics.  It  was 
the  intention  of  the  editors  that  it  should  be  an  impartial 
journal,  and  their  intention  seems  to  have  been  perma- 
nently adhered  to.  Political  affairs  were  discussed  with 
freedom,  by  their  correspondents  ;  and  so  far  as  the  pri- 
vate  views  of   the  editors  are   developed,   there  is  no 


322  THE  HERALD  OF  FREEDOM. 

indication  of  strong  personal  prejudices  or  affections  in 
regard  to  candidates  for  political  offices.  The  editorial 
paragraphs,  —  quite  numerous,  but  always  brief,  —  are 
more  in  the  style  of  a  scholar  than  those  of  most  of  the 
cotemporary  papers. 

In  the  political  contest,  which  took  place  just  before 
the  annual  election  of  Governor,  in  1788,  between  the 
friends  of  Hancock  and  Bowdoin,  the  rival  candidates, 
most  of  the  writers  for  the  Herald  were  in  favor  of  Han- 
cock. "  Laco,"  a  writer  in  the  Centinel,  who  had  attacked 
him  with  some  acrimony  of  temper,  was  treated  by  them 
with  little  courtesy ;  and  the  editor  of  the  Centinel 
came  in  for  a  share  of  their  rebuke,  for  the  indulgence 
he  had  shown  to  his  correspondent.  He  and  they  were 
lampooned  after  this  fashion  :  — 

To  the  Public,  and  All  whom  it  may  Concern. 
A\Ticrcas,  WE,  Laco  &  Company,  alias,  S H- 


P ,  and  J W ,*  have  undertaken  to  vilify  the  charac- 
ter of  Mr.  H. ;  though,  in  the  beginning,  our  materials  consisted  of  a 
large  number  of  lies,  -vulgar  epithets,  and  abusive  language,  yet  they 
are  all  expended ;  "  WE,"  with  all  our  ingenuity  and  invention,  can- 
not find  where^vith  to  proceed :  —  "  We  "  hereby  promise  to  rcvrard  any 
person  or  persons,  who  can  supply  us  with  any  or  all  of  them  —  the 
more  infamous  and  notorious  they  are,  the  larger  will  be  tlie  gratuity 

—  for  further  particulars,  inquire  of  our  tnisty  and  wcll-belovcd  S 

11 ,  in  Eedcral-strcet,  wliere  they  will  be  thankfully  received,  or 

of  the  "  uninfluenced  "  and  impartial  Editor  of  the  Centinel,  at  the  head 
of  Black  Sam's  Alley.  Laco  &  Co. 

Some  of  the  articles  in  defence  of  Hancock,  against 
the  charges,  and  innuendoes  of  the  correspondents  of 
the  Centinel,  were  written  in  a  more  dignified  manner. 

A  series  of  essays  appeared  in  this  paper,  under  the 

*  Stephen  Higginson,  Theophilus  Parsons,  and  James  Warren,  were  supposed  to 
be  the  writers  against  Governor  Hancock  in  the  Centinel. 


FREEMAN  AND  ANDREWS.  323 

title  of  "  How  to  make  an  Apple  Pudding,  being  a 
curious,  elaborate,  and  sublime  Dissertation,  never  before 
published,  by  Yankee  Doodle,  Esq."  The  aim  of  the 
writer  appears  to  have  been  to  satirize  some  of  the  pre- 
vailing follies  of  the  time ;  but  the  pungency  of  his  sat- 
ire has  been  lost  with  the  knowledge  of  Its  subjects.  In 
one  of  the  early  numbers  are  two  or  three  letters,  said 
to  have  been  written  by  a  young  lady,  who,  not  long 
before,  had  committed  suicide,  under  circumstances, 
which  produced  intense  agitation  in  the  fashionable  cir- 
cles of  Boston,  and  which  laid  the  foundation  of  a  novel 
entitled  "  The  Power  of  Sympathy,  or  the  Triumph  of 
Nature."  This  "  novel  founded  In  truth,"  was  no 
sooner  announced  as  published,  than  an  attempt  was 
made  to  suppress  it,  by  purchasing  and  destroying  all 
the  copies  that  could  be  found.  Few,  if  any,  are  now 
in  existence. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  year,  the  name  of  Loring  An- 
drews disappeared  in  the  imprint  of  the  Herald,  and  the 
publication  was  carried  on  by  Edmund  Freeman  alone. 

In  February,  1790,  the  following  article  appeared  in 
the  Herald  :  — 

From  a  Correspondent. 

"  While  the  curiosity  of  the  public  is  excited  by  the  professed  reform- 
ation in  the  law  practice,  —  while  the  enemies  of  the  lawyers  wait 
with  anxious  expectation  the  result,  —  it  may  not  be  improper  to  turn 
our  attention  to  the  character  of  the  gentleman  from  whom  the  pro- 
fessed reformation  originates.  The  tongue  is  an  unruly  evil,  full  of 
deadly  poison  ;  it  cannot  be  tamed  ;  it  sets  on  fire  the  whole  course  of 
nature,  and  is  "  set  on  fire  of  hell."  This  saying  of  the  Apostle  James, 
is  peculiarly  applicable  to  this  gentleman,  the  virulence  of  whose  tongue 
none  can  escape,  no,  not  even  the  dead.  His  malicious  disposition  is 
such,  that  he  cannot  pass  in  silence  the  memory  of  his  deceased  father, 
but  treats  his  character  with  such  abusive  and  scurrilous  language,  as 


324  THE  HERALD  OF  FREEDOM. 

would  strike  even  a  savage  with  hoiror  and  amazement.  A  wife  mur- 
dered by  his  cruelty,  receives  not  a  tear  from  liis  humanity  ;  and  even 
her  friends,  who  are  supposed  to  mourn  her  loss,  are  the  subjects  of  his 
unnatural  and  inhuman  reflections.  A  daughter,  whose  innocence  and 
modest  appearance,  one  would  think,  were  suflScient  to  disarm  a  niffian, 
and  arrest  from  the  most  virulent  tongue  its  stings,  cannot  escape  his  bar- 
barity ;  but  even  in  company,  and  1)cfore  strangers,  receives  from  her  un- 
natural father  such  odious  and  shotking  epithets,  as  would  hardly  bo 
thought  to  proceed  from  the  mouth  of  a  madman.  His  turbulent  temper 
knows  no  rest;  troulilcs  and  tempests  have  attended  him  wherever  he  has 
resided  ;  and  indeed  it  is  imitossible  in  any  place,  which  is  so  unfortunato 
as  to  have  him  for  an  inhabitant,  to  be  at  peace.  Prejudice,  upon  which 
he  has  expatiated  so  largely,  never  appeared  in  a  greater  degree  or  more 
striking  mnnner,  than  in  this  man.  Prejudice  against  quietness  and  peace 
—  prejudice  against  sobriety  and  temperance  —  prejudice  against  every 
one,  who  appears  to  differ  from  him  in  his  opinion,  who  opposes  his 
injudicious  schemes,  or  who  stands  in  the  way  of  his  importance  ;  in 
short,  prejudice  against  every  body  and  every  thing,  that  is  good,  and 
in  favor  of  every  thing  that  is  bad.  His  i)rcjudice  is  likewise  very  liable 
to  change.  While  in  Europe  and  St.  Kitt's,  we  may,  from  his  present 
conduct,  fairly  conclude,  that  his  prejudice  was  very  violent  against 
New-Eii(jla)id,  and  as  violent  in  favor  of  Old-England,  or  rather  West- 
India.  Immediately  upon  his  arrival  in  America,  we  find  all  his  praise 
lavished  u])on  the  fonuer,  and  nothing  belonging  to  the  latter  escaped 
his  virulence.  His  whole  soul  is  so  ])Ound  up  in  Nnc-Enghmd,  that  he 
keeps  it  in  his  head,  and  at  his  side,  by  ni(jht  and  by  day,  and  not  a  mo- 
ment are  his  thoughts  turned  from  it  to  the  contemplation  of  other  ob- 
jects. Even  on  the  Lords  Day,  his  God  receives  no  part  of  his  adora- 
tion, but  the  spirit  of  New-England  rises  so  high  as  to  remove  the  centre 
of  gravity ;  and,  as  second  cousin  to  the  Elect  Lady,  the  iniquities  of  his 
brethren  and  grievances  of  the  people  stream  from  his  mouth,  in  plenti- 
ful effusion.  This,  my  fellow-citizens,  is  the  man,  who  proposed  to  alter 
the  present  method  of  Law  Practice,  and  redress  your  grievances. 
Can  you  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean  ?  Can  the  fig-tree  bear 
olive  berries,  or  the  vine  figs  ?  So  neither  can  the  same  fountain  send 
forth  salt  water  and  fresh.  Whoso  curseth  his  father,  his  lamp  shall  be 
l)Ut  out  in  utter  darkness ! 

I  shall  make  no  apology  for  this  piece;  the  gentleman  himself  has 
told  us,  that  a  reverence  for  the  dead  ought  not  to  tie  the  tongue,  nor 
ought  the  pen  of  the  historian  ;  and  certainly  a  reverence  for  the  charac- 
ter of  the  living,  who  have  rendered  themselves  infamous  by  their  con- 
duct, ought  not  to  have  this  effect. 


EDMUND    FREEMAN.  325 

Very  soon  after  the  appearance  of  this  article,  John 
Gardiner,  a  representative  in  the  Legislature,  from  the 
town  of  Pownalhorough,  entered  a  complaint  against 
Freeman  for  the  publication  of  a  libel,  and  a  warrant  for 
his  arrest  was  granted  by  Thomas  Crafts,  a  justice  of  the 
peace.  Gardiner,  on  his  part,  conducted  the  examina- 
tion himself.  Harrison  G.  Otis  and  R.  G.  Amory  were 
counsel  for  Freeman.  He  was  bound  in  a  penalty  of 
two  hundred  pounds,  with  two  sureties  in  one  hundred 
pounds  each,  for  his  appearance  at  the  next  term  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  Gardiner  recognized  in  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  pounds,  to  appear  and  prosecute  his  complaint 
at  the  same  court. 

The  trial  came  on  in  February,  1791.  Gardiner 
asked  leave  of  the  court  to  assist  the  attorney-general 
in  the  management  of  the  prosecution.  The  attorney- 
general,  —  James  Sullivan,  Esq.  —  said  he  thought  the 
request  a  very  improper  one.  He  was,  himself,  the 
common  medium  of  all  prosecutions  on  the  part  of  the 
government,  and  the  present  case  was  the  first  of  the 
Icind,  which  had  happened  in  this  country.  It  was  an 
arduous  and  difficult  task  to  draw  the  proper  line  between 
the  libtrty  and  the  licentiousness  of  the  press.  It  was  a 
matter  of  vast  importance,  in  which  the  government,  as 
well  as  every  class  of  citizens,  was  concerned.  He  was 
appointed  by  the  government  to  conduct  all  causes,  in 
which  the  commonwealth  was  concerned ;  and,  as  this 
was  such  a  cause,  he  should  not  commit  the  manage- 
ment of  it  to  Mr.  Gardiner,  or  any  other  man.  Gardiner 
still  urged  his  request;  but  after  consultation,  the  court 
detennined  to  proceed  in  the  usual  manner,  and  directed 
the  attorney-general  to  go  on  with  the  prosecution. 

VOL.   I.  28 


326  HERALD    OF    FREEDOM. 

The  fact  of  the  publication  by  Freeman  was  proved 
by  witnesses,  who  bought  the  paper.  Two  witnesses 
testified  that  they  went  to  Freeman's  office  with  Gardiner, 
who  accosted  the  printer,  in  substance  thus: — "How 
dared  you,  Sir,  to  assert  in  your  paper  of  yesterday,  that 
I  had  murdered  the  most  excellent  woman  that  ever 
lived?"  That  the  printer  replied,  —  "I  do  not  know 
that  I  did  any  such  thing."  That  Gardiner  then  read 
to  the  printer  the  supposed  libel,  particularly  that  part 
where  it  says,  '  a  wife  murdered  by  his  cruelty,'  &ic.  and 
asked,  "  Pray  Sir,  what  did  you  mean  by  murdered  by 
my  cruelty  ?  "  "I  suppose,"  said  the  printer,  "  by  your 
severe  usage.  It  was  brought  to  me  by  a  person  about 
twenty-five  or  twenty-six  years  of  age,  —  whom  I  told, 
if  I  was  called  upon,  I  must  look  to,  and  through  him 
trace  up  the  author.  I  don't  say  he  was  the  author." 
Gardiner  then  said  he  would  trace  up  the  author,  if  possi- 
ble, and  see  the  infamous  villain  in  the  pillory. 

Two  witnesses  were  examined  for  the  defence.  One 
of  them  testified.  That  Gardiner  told  Freeman,  when  he 
applied  to  him  for  one  of  his  speeches,  that  "  he  had 
given  Mr.  Russell,  the  printer  of  the  Centinel,  the  ex- 
clusive privilege  of  printing  all  his  observations,  refer- 
ences, &c.  as  delivered  by  him  in  the  Legislature,  upon 
the  express  condition  that  he  should  publish  every  thing 
that  came  from  the  hlacli  birds,  however  smutty  it  might 
be,  against  the  man  and  the  measures."  Another  testified, 
"  That  Gardiner  told  him,  that  he  had  engaged  all  his 
speeches  and  writings  to  the  printer  of  the  Centinel,  upon 
condition  that  he  published  every  thing,  which  might  be 
brought  against  him." 


JOHN    HOWELL.        '  327 

This  trial, —  the  first  trial  for  a  libel  in  the  courts  of 
Massachusetts,  —  was  pretty  fully  reported  in  the  Inde- 
pendent Chronicle,  where  the  reader,  who  wishes  to  see 
the  arguments  of  the  attorney-general  for  the  prosecution, 
and  of  Messrs.  Otis  and  Amory  for  the  defendant, 
together  with  the  charge  of  the  Chief  Justice,  may  find 
them.     The  jury  brought  in  a  verdict,  —  Not  Guilty. 

About  two  months  after  this  trial.  Freeman  took  leave 
of  the  public,  in  a  very  brief  acknowledgement  for  favors 
received,  and  stating  that  the  right  and  title  of  the  pa- 
per were  transferred  to  John  Howell,  whom  he  recom- 
mended as  worthy  of  support.  Howell  began  his  career 
with  a  suitable  address,  in  which  he  said,  —  "  The  mean, 
through  which  the  editor  will  seek  the  flattering  reward 
of  public  approbation,  will  be  —  preserving  inviolate  the 
laws  of  decency  and  truth  —  exercising  the  fullest 
impartiality  and  most  extensive  candor  —  and  sedulously 
gleaning,  from  the  fruitful  harvest  of  Politics  and  Com- 
merce, the  earliest,  most  interesting,  and  best  authenticat- 
ed intelligence."  In  just  three  months,  Howell  pub- 
hshed  his  intention  of  changing  the  name  of  his  paper, 
in  the  following  nonsensical  and  bombastical  language  :  — 

The  Herald  of  Freedom,  conscious  that  she  is  now  but  dust,  and 
feeling  her  dissolution  daily  approaching,  hereby  declares,  that  she  dies 
Uterally  from  a  typical  disease ;  and  though  she  must  submit,  in  common 
with  the  element  of  which  she  is  composed,  to  the  general  laws  of  mor. 
tality,  yet  for  a  few  days  she  sleeps  in  hope  of  a  joyful  resurrection ; 
the  fruition  of  which  shall  clothe  her  in  the  bright  and  stable  rays  of 
information,  entertainment,  and  intelligence. 

The  trance  of  business,  like  that  of  life,  though  it  may  suspend 
awhile  the  operations  of  her  activity,  yet  by  opening  a  second  morning 
to  her  being,  will  discover  new  objects  of  interest,  pursuit,  and  ambi- 
tion ;  and,  like  the  benighted  traveler,  who,  having  passed  the  rocks, 
waves,  and  precipices  of  life  without  a  guide,  will  secure  herself  in  the 
haven,  where  industry  and  attention  can  alone  find  rest. 


328  HERALD    OF    FREEDOM. 

The  public  are  now  respectfully  informed,  that  This  Paper  will  die 
TO-DAY,  and  that,  on  Friday  next,  like  the  Phoenix  from  her  ashes,  Mill 
arise  the  Argus,  to  view  with  his  hundred  eyes,  the  literary,  political, 
commercial,  and  agricultural  interests  of  this  great  western  hemi- 
sphere. Thus,  various  as  his  attentions,  will,  we  ti-ust,  be  the  faculties  of 
his  entertainment;  and  having  already  so  liberally  experienced  the 
patronage  of  a  discerning  public,  under  another  name,  will  in  future  be 
as  sedulous  in  Iur  endeavors  of  merit,  as  theij  have  already  been  liberal 
in  the  bounties  of  bestowing  it. 

The  paper,  which  contained  this  absurd  attempt  at 
fine  writing,  was,  of  course,  the  last  number  of  the 
Herald  of  Freedom.  A  paper  called  the  Argus,  was 
afterwards  published  by  Edward  Eveleth  Powars,  but 
whether  Howell  was  connected  with  it  or  not,  does  not 
appear  from  any  of  the  numbers,  which  I  have  seen. 

Edmund  Freeman,  one  of  the  first  publishers  of  the 
Herald  of  Freedom,  was  a  native  of  Sandwich,  Mass. 
and  was  educated  a  printer.  After  he  relinquished  the 
publication  of  this  paper  he  was  connected  with  a  maga- 
zine, and,  I  believe,  with  another  newspaper,  in  Boston. 

Loring  Andrews  was  a  native  of  Hingham,  Mass. 
and  was  also  bred  to  the  printing  business.  After  he 
left  Freeman,  he  published  a  paper  at  Stockbridge,  in  the 
county  of  Berkshire,  called  the  Western  Star.  At  one 
time  he  was  editor  of  the  Albany  Centinel,  and  was 
printer  to  the  state.  Subsequently  he  went  to  Charleston, 
S.  C.  and  there  established  the  Charleston  Courier.  He 
died  in  that  city,  about  the  year  1807. 


THE   HAMPSHIHE   GAZETTE. 


Br  the  advice  and  encouragement  of  a  number  of 
gentlemen  of  Hampshire  county,  William  Butler  set  up 
a  printing-office  in  Northampton,  and  issued  the  first 
number  of  the  Hampshire  Gazette,  on  the  sixth  of  Sep- 
tember, 1786.  It  was  while  the  insurgent  Shays  and 
his  companions,  Day,  Parsons,  and  others,  were  doing 
their  utmost  to  stop  the  operations  of  the  courts  of  jus- 
tice in  Massachusetts.  Conventions  had  been  held  at 
sundry  places  in  the  county,  at  which  resolutions,  ex- 
pressing the  supposed  grievances  of  the  people,  had 
been  adopted.  A  convention  at  Hatfield  was  composed 
of  delegates  from  fifty  towns.  This  convention  issued 
a  manifesto,  in  which  seventeen  distinct  articles  stated  as 
many  causes  of  dissatisfaction.  A  paper  was  printed  at 
Springfield ;  but  the  county  then  stretched  across  the 
state  from  north  to  south,  and  intelligence,  by  means  of 
the  press,  was  not  very  rapidly  communicated.  To  sup- 
ply this  deficiency,  and  to  support  the  government 
against  the  insurrectionary  plans  of  Shays  and  his  associ- 
ates, was  the  chief  motive,  that  led  to  the  establishment 
of  the  Hampshire  Gazette.  Among  the  writers,  who 
immediately  came  forward  in  opposition  to  the  insurgents, 
were  the  Rev.  Joseph  Lyman,  of  Hatfield,  who  wrote 
a  series  of  articles,  signed  "  An  Old  Republican,"  and 
28* 


330  HAMPSHIRE    GAZETTE. 

Caleb  Strong,  of  Northampton.  The  venerable  Major 
Havvley,  then  near  the  close  of  life,  was  also  a  contribu- 
tor. These,  with  others  less  known,  kept  the  Gazette, 
for  some  time,  nearly  filled  with  articles,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  allay  popular  excitement,  by  exposing  the 
schemes  of  demagogues,  and  recommending  more  peace- 
ful measures  to  procure  the  redress  of  grievances. 

I  am  not  able  to  identify  the  communications  of  Ca- 
leb Strong ;  but  there  are  many  essays  in  the  Gazette, 
which  for  political  wisdom,  sound  morals,  and  irrefutable 
argument,  are  worthy  of  his  pen,  and  would  not  discredit 
his  fame  as  a  patriot,  a  statesman,  a  lawyer,  or  a 
Christian.  Dr.  Lyman  wrote,  as  he  always  preached, 
W'ith  great  ))lainness  and  simplicity,  and  often  with  elo- 
quence. In  one  of  his  essays,  he  closes  his  argument 
against  mobs,  in  the  language,  which  follows,  after  quot- 
ing an  appropriate  passage  of  scripture  concerning  "  the 
flying  roll  "  :  — 

Leaving  this  divine  denunciation  to  the  soher  reflection  of  those  mili- 
tary officers,  who  were  active  in  the  late  tumult,  let  me  ol)scn'e,  that 
jnobs  never  did  any  good  to  the  cause  which  they  intended  to  support. 
Their  natural  operation  is  to  make  the  hand  of  power  more  weighty 
and  severe ;  when  continued,  they  produce  perplexities  and  animosities 
among  friends  and  brethren ;  they  raise  sad  contentions ;  they  frequently 
issue  in  liloodshed,  and  murder,  and  executions.  "When  most  success- 
ful, the  page  of  history  tells  us,  that  popular  insurrections,  after  lament- 
able devastation,  end  in  the  utter  subversion  of  the  people's  liberties,  and 
the  bloody  tyranny  of  one  man,  —  an  event,  by  which  the  whole  com- 
munity is  rendered  certainly  and  ii-retrievably  wretched.  But,  resting 
upon  the  divine  compassion,  we  presage  moi"e  joyful  events  for  a  peo- 
ple, although  ungrateful,  whom  he  can  so  easily  fit  for  his  astonishing 
goodness.  Tokens  for  good  do  even  now  daily  arise.  The  people  be- 
gin to  be  sensible  of  their  privileges  and  happy  security  under  the  gov- 
ernment. I  see  the  honest,  the  brave,  the  stable  yeomanry  of  this 
ancient  and  large  county,  wlio  from  their  love  of  rest,  have  too  easily 
been  lulled  asleep  in  perilous  times,  —  I  see  them  rub  open  then-  eyelids 


WILLIAM    BUTLER.  331 

to  discovei'  their  imminent  danger.  In  detestation  of  violent  measures, 
I  hear  them  say,  This  government,  so  imrcasonably  attacked,  is  our 
government.  We  will  have  neitlicr  king  nor  tyrant.  I  see  them  smite 
their  hands  upon  their  tliighs  and  say,  By  the  grace  of  Heaven,  our 
government,  bought  for  our  children  with  our  blood,  shall  be  protected 
from  the  dishonest  aitiiices  of  fraud,  and  the  violence  of  fell  ambition. 
With  them,  under  an  indulgent  Heaven,  the  issue  rests,  —  whether 
we  shall  be  virtuous,  free  and  happy;  or  whether,  driven  into  tjTanuy 
by  the  storms  of  anarchy  and  confusion,  we  fall,  degraded  and  vile, 
slavish  and  enslaved ;  —  whether  we  shall  reign  kings  in  our  own  gov- 
ernment, or  like  Issachar,  be  as  the  strong  ass,  crouching  down  between 
two  burdens.  To  those,  who  have  been  seduced  from  their  duty  and 
happiness,  I  give  this  friendly  and  faithful  caution,  which  I  wish  them 
timely  to  remember,  —  That  while  Justice  has  leaden  feet, 

SHE    HAS   IKON   HANDS. 

The  Gazette  was  not  entirely  devoted  to  the  suppres- 
sion of  complaint  and  insurrection.  Essays  on  morals 
and  religion  occasionally  appeared,  and,  some  times,  an 
original  piece  of  wit  and  humor  diversified  its  sober 
countenance.  Of  the  latter  description  is  the  following, 
which  might  stand  by  the  side  of  Peter  Pindar's  best 
stories,  without  unfavorable  comparison  :  — 

THE    PAESON    A>vD    WIDOW. 

A  worthy,  pious  clergyman  of  late, 
Who  ranked  it  with  his  gospel  labors 
To  guard  his  tlock,  and  visit  oft  his  neighbors;  — 

(A  practice  now  gro^\'n  something  out  of  date ; ) 

Good  faithful  man,  with  unremitting  zeal. 

From  house  to  house  would  daily  go ; 
Eager  his  Master's  duty  to  fulfill. 

And  curious  his  parishioners  to  know. 

Full  oft  the  cot  of  wi'etchedness  he  sought. 

Where  death  or  pale  disease  had  brought  distress. 

With  many  a  balmy  consolation  fraught. 
To  clieer  the  widow  and  the  fatherless. 

Abroad,  o'er  mug  of  cider  or  his  pipe. 
Would  he  inculcate  lessons  moral ; 


332  HAMPSHIRE    GAZETTE. 

From  misery's  cheek  the  tear  of  anguish  wipe, 
Decide  a  cause,  or  terminate  a  quarrel. 

One  day,  on  his  important  charge  intent. 
His  mind  to  unburthen  and  his  maw  to  feast, 

To  a  poor  widow's  house  the  Parson  went. 
Whose  spouse  had  recently  deceased. 

John  to  a  small  estate  was  rightful  heir, 

But  lived  an  idle,  dissipated  life ; 
Would  light,  get  drunk,  and  rave,  and  swear, 

Abuse  his  family  and  maul  his  ^vife ; 
Indulged  his  vices,  till  his  all  was  spent, 
Got  drunk,  and  died  a  vile  impenitent. 

Down  sat  his  reverence  and  began  his  theme — 
"  Afflictions,  woman,  spring  not  from  the  dust ; 

Our  life  's  a  vapor  —  'tis  an  airy  dream ; 
Death  is  the  lot  of  all,  but  God  is  just. 

"  Your  husband  's  gone,  alas  !  we  know  not  where ; 

The  yawning  gi-ave  doth  every  man  await ; 
Pray,  can  you  tell  me,  did  he  not  despair? 

Was  he  concerned  about  his J'uture  state?" 

" Future  estate!  "  exclaimed  poor  Joan, 
With  squeaking  tone ; 

Then  wiped  her  eyes  and  sighed ; 
"  Future  estate  !  u-hy,  ducky  man,  he  'd  tione, 

He  spent  it  long  enough  before  he  died!  " 

William  Butler,  the  original  proprietor  and  editor 
of  the  Hampshire  Gazette,  was  a  man  of  correct  princi- 
ples and  habits,  an  unwavering  supporter  of  order,  liberty 
and  law.  He  was  one  of  the  most  industrious  of  men. 
All  his  available  means  he  used  to  extend  his  business, 
and  carried  on  book-printing  and  book-binding  as  well 
as  a  newspaper.  He  also  erected  a  paper-mill,  where 
he  manufactured  paper  for  his  own  accommodation,  and 
more  than  he  used  at  his  own  press.  Soon  after  the 
close  of  the  war  of  1812,  he  sold  the  Gazette;  and, 
being  much  afflicted  with  chronic  rheumatism,  retired 


WILLIAM   BUTLER.  333 

from  active  business,  with  a  decent  competency,  but 
without  the  affluence,  whicli  thousands  enjoy,  who  never 
practised  a  tithe  of  economy  and  industry  hke  his. 

The  Gazette  has  passed  through  the  hands  of  several 
persons,  and  is  now  in  possession  of  William  A.  Hawley. 
It  is  the  oldest  paper  in  Massachusetts,  except  the 
Massachusetts  Spy. 


EXETER  FEDERAL  MISCELLANY. 


In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1798,  a  paper  bearing 
this  title  was  published  at  Exeter,  N.  H.  by  Henry 
Ranlet.  I  have  only  two  numbers  of  it,  and  am  unin- 
formed as  to  the  length  of  its  existence.  It  was  printed 
on  a  royal  sheet,  and,  though  the  two  numbers  contain 
nothing  that  give  any  indications  of  original  talent  in  the 
editorial  department,  the  selections  of  political  articles 
are  sufficient  to  justify  the  propriety  of  the  title.  The 
paper  of  February  13,  1799,  has  the  Song  hereto 
annexed,  which  it  is  stated,  editorially,  "  was  composed 
by  an  undergraduate  of  Dartlnouth  College.  Notwith- 
standing some  little  deficiencies  in  point  of  language,  it 
discovers  enough  of  poetic,  as  well  as  patriotic,  fire,  to 
entitle  it  to  publication  "  :  — 

THE  TIMES. 
Beneath  the  soft  shade  of  the  clustering  vine, 

AVith  the  l)ranch  of  the  olive,  —  of  virtue  the  wages, 
Where  laurels  with  roses  and  myrtle  entwine, 

Columbians  have  flourished, — the  choicest  of  ages: 
Eound  Liberty's  throne. 
Her  heroes  have  gromi. 
And  to  the  wide  universe  ever  have  shown, 
Tlmt  ne^er  to  a  tyrant  shall  patriots  Jail, 
While  Phahus  his  chariot  impels  round  the  ball. 

Dark  glooms  the  grim  tempest  of  havoc  and  war, 
The  thunder  of  tyranny  shakes  the  wide  ocean ; 


HENRY    RANLET.  335 

War  waves  the  red  flag  of  fell  carnage  from  far ; 
But  freemen,  undaunted,  behold  the  commotion : 
Each,  firm  to  his  post, 
To  rerist  the  mad  host. 
Resolve  all  assailants  to  drive  from  the  coast : 
To  the  shrine  of  no  ti/rant,  §-c. 

The  spirit  of  Liberty  flashes  around. 

Brave  heroes  assemble,  while  danger  approaches ; 
Of  trumpet  and  drum  boldly  march  to  the  sound, 
To  meet  the  proud  foe,  whose  ambition  encroaches : 
Deteniiined  to  stand, 
And  sliield  their  blest  land, 
Or  leave  their  dead  bodies  to  bleach  on  the  strand ; 
To  the  shrine  of  no  tyrant,  ^-c. 

Proud  Gallia  may  boast  the  extent  of  her  sway. 
Show  cities  in  ashes  and  kingdoms  subjected ; 
Point  to  Holland  enfranchised,  make  Venice  obey. 

Boast  of  kingdoms  and  empires,  when  plundered,  protected : 
Of  their  fate  we  '11  beware ; 
Our  rights  we  '11  declare. 
And  unitedly  look  up  to  heaven,  and  swear. 
That  ne'er  to  a  tyrant,  ^x. 

When  the  gauntlet  of  power  was  by  tyranny  thrown, 

Wlien  Slaveiy  threatened,  and  Freedom  lay  bleeding, 
Americans  made  the  fair  jewel  their  own. 
To  hand  it,  unblemished,  to  ages  succeeding. 
Proud  Britain,  in  vain, 
Had  bridged  o'er  the  main, 
Intending  to  rivet  harsh  Slavery's  chain. 
To  the  shrine  of  no  tyrant,  ^-c. 

How  vain  the  attempt  of  the  minions  of  pride, 

With  the  engines  of  death,  to  appall  our  firm  nation ! 
Not  all  Europe's  cohorts,  to  Britain  allied. 

Could  have  driven  Americans  from  their  fixed  station. 
Like  a  mount,  to  the  flood, 
Great  Washington  stood, 
And  rolled  back  the  foe  in  a  torrent  of  blood. 
To  the  shrine  of  no  tyrant,  ^-c. 

Again,  when  the  clarion  of  War  spreads  alarm, 

From  the  venerable  Mount  comes  the  Patriot  hoary, 


336  EXETER    FEDERAL    MISCELLANY. 

To  shield  Freedom's  altars  and  temples  from  harm, 
And  raise  them,  sublime,  to  the  summit  of  glorj'. 
Though  silvered  with  age. 
When  Jacobins  rage, 
He  comes,  like  a  tempest,  their  force  to  engage : 
To  the  shrine  of  no  tyrant^  ^-c. 

Midst  Faction  enkindled,  just  bursting  to  flame, 
Sec  Adams,  like  Atlas,  our  glory  supporting; 
"Wliile  the  foes  of  our  freedom,  encrimsoned  with  shame. 

Scarce  own  the  mad  rabble,  whose  smiles  they  've  been  courting: 
Then,  Adams  our  guide, 
In  liim  we  '11  confide. 
And  safe  o'er  the  whirlpools  of  Faction  we  '11  ride  : 
And  ne'er  to  the  shrine  of  a  tyrant  will  fall 
Mliile  Phoebus  his  chariot  impels  round  the  ball. 


APPENDIX   TO    VOL.  I. 


JAMES  FRANIvLIN'S  IMPRISONMENT. 

In  a  note,  page  68,  It  is  said,  "  What  Franklin  was 
imprisoned  for  does  not  distinctly  appear."  Since  that 
part  of  the  volume  was  printed,  the  Hon.  Edward 
Everett  has  furnished  me  with  an  explanation  of  this 
obscure  point  in  the  history  of  Franklin,  which  he 
obtained  by  consulting  the  manuscript  records  of  the 
General  Court,  for  the  month  of  June  1722,  and  which 
is  here  abridged  :  — 

In  the  Courant  of  June  11,  1722,  there  was  an  arti- 
cle, dated  Newport,  R.  I.  June  7,  containing  an  account 
of  the  appearance  of  a  pirate  off  Block  Island,  and  of 
the  prompt  steps  taken  at  Newport  to  send  out  two  ves- 
sels to  cruise  against  him.  The  article  concludes  with 
this  remark :  —  "  We  are  advised  from  Boston  that  the 
government  of  the  Massachusetts  are  fitting  cut  a  ship  to 
go  after  the  pirates,  to  be  commanded  by  Captain  Peter 
Papillon,  and  'tis  thought  he  will  sail  sometime  this 
month,  wind  and  loeather  permitting ^  The  insinuation 
of  tardiness,  in  the  conclusion  of  the  pretended  article 
from  Rhode-Island,  seems  to  have  been  taken  as  an 
affront  to  the  government.  On  the  12th  of  June,  the 
day  succeeding  the  publication,  the  council  had  the 
Courant  before  them,  and  apprehending  that  a  para- 

VOL.   I.  29 


338  APPENDIX. 

graph  therein,  said  to  be  written    from    Rhode-Island, 
contains  matter  of  reflection  on  this  government, 

"  Ordered,  That  the  publisher  of  said  paper,  be  forthwith  sent  for  to 
answer  for  the  same,  and  accordingly  James  Franklyn,  of  Boston, 
printer,  Avas  sent  for,  examined,  and  owned  that  he  had  published  the 
said  paper." 

The  council,  having  had  consideration  of  the  para- 
graph relating  to  the  fitting  out  of  a  ship  to  proceed 
against  the  pirates,  "  resolved  that  the  said  paragraph 
is  a  hio;h  affront  to  this  government."  The  sheriff  of 
the  county  of  Suffolk  was  forthwith  ordered  to  commit, 
to  the  gaol  in  Boston,  the  body  of  Franklin,  and  the 
order  was  immediately  executed. 

The  records  of  the  General  Court  contain  the  follow- 
ing entry  the  next  week  :  — 

"In  Council,  20th  June,  1722,  a  petition  of  James  Franklyn,  printer, 
humbly  shewing,  that  he  is  truly  sensible  and  heartily  soiTy  for  the 
offence  he  has  given  to  this  court  in  the  late  Courant,  relating  to  the 
fitting  out  of  a  ship  by  the  government,  and  truly  acknowledges  his 
inadvertency  and  folly  therein  in  affronting  the  government,  as  also  his 
indiscretion  and  indecency  when  before  the  court,  for  all  which  he 
intreats  the  court's  forgiveness,  and  praying  a  discharge  from  the  stone 
prison  where  he  is  confined  by  order  of  the  court,  and  that  he  may  have 
the  liberty  of  the  yard,  he  being  much  indisposed  and  suffering  in  his 
health  by  the  said  confinement;  a  certificate  of  Dr.  Zabdicl  Boylstou 
being  offered  with  the  said  petition. 

"  In  the  House  of  Representatives,  read,  and 

"  Voted,  that  James  Franklyn,  now  a  prisoner  in  the  stone  gaol,  may 
have  the  liberty  of  the  prison  house  and  yard,  upon  his  giving  secm-ity 
for  his  f^iithful  abiding  there. 

"  In  Council,  read  and  concurred ;  consented  to. 

"Samuel  Suute." 

It  is  rather  singular  that  Mr,  Thomas  should  have 
overlooked  these  documents  in  his  examination  of  the 
colonial  records.  He  has  transferred  to  his  History  the 
following  records,  which  may  be  interesting  to  the  reader, 


APPENDIX,  339 

as  an  elucidaliou  of  this  part  of  the  History  of  the  New- 
England  Courant :  — 

"In  Council  July  5th,  1722." 

"  Whereas  in  the  Paper  called  the  New-England  Courant  printed 
Weekly  by  James  Franklin,  many  passages  have  been  published  boldly 
reflecting  on  His  Majesty's  Government  and  on  the  Administration  of 
it  in  this  Province,  the  Ministry,  Churches  and  College ;  and  it  very 
often  contains  Paragraphs  that  tend  to  fill  the  Eeaders'  minds  with 
vanity  to  the  Dishonor  of  Cod,  and  disservice  of  Good  Men. 

"  Resolved,  that  no  such  Weekly  Paper  be  hereafter  Printed  or  Pub- 
lished -without  the  same  be  first  perused  and  allowed  b}'  the  Secretary, 
as  has  been  usual.  And  that  the  said  Franklin  give  Security  before 
the  Justices  of  the  Superior  Court  in  the  Sum  of  100/.  to  be  of  the 
good  Behaviour  to  the  End  of  the  next  Fall  Sessions  of  tins  Court. 
Sent  do^\Ti  for  ConcuiTcnce." 

"  Read  and  Kon-concurred." 

LETTERS  FROM  REV.  S.  PETERS. 
Page  195. 

The  proceedings  of  the  Provincial  Congress  pub- 
lished in  the  Boston  Gazette,  embrace  some  interesting 
papers,  and  among  them  are  the  following  Letters, — 
which  were  read  in  the  congress,  —  from  the  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Peters,  minister  of  an  Episcopal  Church  at  Hebron, 
Connecticut :  — 

Dear  Mother,  Boston,  September  28,  1774. 

I  am  yet  well,  and  doing  l)usiness  for  my  intended  route;  I  hear 
that  a  mob  was  gathered  for  me  the  day  after  I  left  Hebron ;  what  they 
have  done,  I  cannot  yet  find  out.  As  Jonathan  will  be  obliged  to  attend 
at  New  Haven  when  the  assembly  sits,  I  desire  him  to  let  Mr.  Jarvis, 
Andrews,  Hubbard,  «&c.  collect  all  facts  touching  mobs  and  insults 
offered  the  clergy  of  our  church  or  her  ministers,  likewise  to  send  me  a 
copy  of  the  clergy's  petition  to  Governor  Trumbull,  and  what  he  said 
in  answer.  If  Jonathan  is  hurt,  or  my  house  hurt  or  damage  done,  let 
that  be  transmitted  me  within  fourteen  days,  or  after  that  send  those 
accounts  to  the  care  of  Mr.  Rice  Williams,  a  woollen-draper  in  Lon- 
don. I  am  in  high  spirits.  I  should  be  happy  if  my  friends  and  rela- 
tions at  Heljron  were  provided  for  at  these  bad  times,  when  things  are 
growing  worse.  Six  regiments  are  coming  over  from  England  and 
sundry  men-of-war;  so  soon  as  they  come,  hanging  work  will  go  ou. 


340  APPENDIX. 

and  destruction  will  attend  first  the  sea-port  towns ;  tlie  lintel  sprinkled 
on  the  side-post  will  preserve  the  faithful.  I  wish  HjHinah  to  take 
some  papers  which  she  and  I  laid  away,  and  bring  them  to  me :  she 
knows  where  they  be  ;  or  burn  them,  if  tliis  letter  appears  to  be  opened 
l)cfore  it  is  opened  by  you.  Mr.  Bccbe  and  Mr  Daniel  Jones,  Mr.  War- 
ren and  Grithth  of  Millington,  must  draw  up  a  narrative  of  their  suf- 
ferings, and  such  words  as  Col.  Spencer,  &c.  have  spoke  by  way  of 
encouragement  to  mobs,  and  let  Dr.  Beebe  send  the  same  to  mc,  to 
the  care  of  Mr.  Thomas  Brown,  merchant  in  Boston. 

To  the  Rev.  Dr.  Aiichmuti/  of  New-York. 

Boston,  October  1,  1774. 
Kev.  Sir, 

The  riots  and  mobs,  that  have  attended  me  and  my  house,  set  on 

by  the  G of  Connecticut,  have  conij)clled  me  to  take  up  my  abode 

here ;  and  the  clergy  of  Connecticut  must  fall  a  srcrifice,  with  the  several 
churches,  very  soon,  to  the  rage  of  the  Puritnn  mobility,  if  the  old  ser- 
pent, that  dragon,  is  not  bound.  Yesterday  I  waited  on  liis  excellency 
the  admiral,  Xc  Dr.  Caner,  I\Ir.  Trothbeck,  I^r.  Byles,  &c.  I  am  soon 
to  sail  for  Engl.and.  I  shall  stand  in  need  of  your  letters,  and  the  let- 
ters of  the  clergy  of  New- York.  Direct  to  Mr.  Bice  Williams,  wool- 
len-draper in  London,  where  I  shall  put  up  at.  Judge  Auchmuty  will 
do  all  that  is  reasonable  for  their  neighboring  charter ;  necessity  calls 
for  such  friendship,  as  the  head  is  sick  and  heart  faint,  and  spiritual 
iniquity  rides  in  high  places;  halberts,  pistols,  and  swords;  see  the 
proclamation  I  sent  you  by  my  nephew,  on  their  pious  Sabbath  da}', 
the  4th  of  last  month,  when  the  preachers  and  magistrates  left  their 
puli)its,  &e.  for  the  gun  and  dmm,  and  set  off  for  Boston,  cursing  the 
King  and  Lord  North,  General  Gage,  the  bishops  and  their  cursed 
curates,  and  the  church  of  England ;  and  for  my  telling  the  church  people 
not  to  take  up  anns,  &c.  it  being  high  treason,  &c.  The  sons  of  liberty 
have  almost  killed  one  of  my  church,  tarred  and  feathered  two,  abu.scd 
othei-s,  and  on  the  Gth  day,  destroyed  my  windows,  —  and  rent  my 
clothes,  even  my  govvTi,  &c.  crying  out,  down  with  the  church,  the  rags 
of  popery,  &c.  Their  rebellion  is  obvious,  and  treason  is  common, 
and  robbery  is  their  daily  devotion.  The  bounds  of  New  York  may 
directly  extend  to  Connecticut  Eiver,  Boston  meet  them,  and  New- 
Hampshire  take  the  province  of  Maine,  Rhode-Island  be  swallowed  up 
as  Dathan.    Pray  lose  no  time,  nor  fear  worse  times  than  attend, 

Eev.  Sir,        Your  very  humble  servant. 
To  Dr.  Auchmutj',  New- York.  Samuel  Peters. 

P.  S.    I  wrote  the  clergy  of  Connecticut;  the  letters  may  be  inter- 
cepted ;  pray  acquaint  Mr.  Dibble,  &e. 


APPKNDIX.  341 

BENJAMIN   EDES. 

Page    197. 

The  editors  of  the  Centinel  having  been  threatened 
with  personal  violence,  in  consequence  of  a  publication 
concerning  a  club,  called  Sans  Souci,  Edes  published 
the  following  remarks,  which  illustrate  his  boldness  in 
defence  of  the  liberty  of  the  press,  even  when  that  lib- 
erty was  invaded  by  an  attack  on  a  political  opponent :  — 

D5^  The  attack  made  upon  the  printers  of  the  Centinel  on  Saturday 
last,  by  a  number  of  icdl-knoivn  persons,  ought  to  excite  the  serious 
attention  of  all  those,  who  duly  regard  the  bulwark  of  our  liberties, 
The  Freedom  of  the  Press.  If  a  pi-inter,  for  advertising  that  he 
intends  to  publish  a  certain  book  for  the  information,  or  merely  the 
amusement  or  innocent  diversion  of  his  fellow-citizens,  is  to  be  beset 
and  abused  by  a  set  of  club-men,  because  the  title-page  does  not  hap- 
pen to  hit  their  taste,  we  may  take  a  farewell  of  our  independence, 
which  we  have  gloriously  obtained,  not  without  great  expense  of  our 
treasure,  and  the  loss  of  some  of  our  best  blood.  A  wound  in  so  ten- 
der a  point  must  surely  prove  fatal !  Should  the  government  appoint 
licensers  of  the  Press,  it  would  give  just  cause  of  otFence.  What  right, 
then,  has  any  set  of  men  to  forbid  the  printing  a  book,  till  it  has  had 
their  imprimatur,  or  to  punish  a  printer  with  club-law,  for  advertising 
it?  The  institution  of  a  society  under  the  name  of  Sans  Soud,  or 
Free  and  Easy,  has  raised  the  apprehensions  as  well  as  curiosity  of 
many  men  of  sober  sentiments  in  this  community,  and  such  a  manner 
of  defending  it  does  not  tend  to  diminish  their  apprehensions.  But 
since  this  mode  has  been  taken  for  its  defence,  it  concerns  the  Public  to 
inquire  into  its  nature  and  design ;  —  that,  if  it  be  innocent,  it  may  have 
the  common  protection;  but  if  it  tends  to  promote  gaming,  idleness, 
and  DISSIPATION,  it  may  be,  as  it  ought,  discountenanced  and  sup- 
pressed. 

LEONARD   WORCESTER. 

See  page  243. 

As  the  name  of  Mr,  Worcester  does  not  appear  in  the 

Spy,  after  the  year   1794,  it  is  presumed  that  he  then 

retired  from  the  business  of  printing,  and  began  a  course 

of  study  preparatory  to  entering  on  the  profession  of  a 

29* 


342  APPENDIX. 

clergyman.  Where  or  with  whom,  he  pursued  his 
studies,  I  am  not  informed.  He  began  preaching  in  the 
course  of  two  or  three  years  after  dissolving  his  connec- 
tion with  Isaiah  Thomas,  and  was  ordained  pastor  of  a 
church  at  Peacham,  in  Vermont,  previous  to  the  year 
1799.  A  near  relative  of  Mr.  Worcester,  has  oblig- 
ingly permitted  me  to  copy  a  part  of  a  letter  from  him 
to  his  father,  written  while  he  was  an  apprentice  to  Mr. 
Thomas,  which  beautifully  illustrates  his  character  as  a 
pure-minded  and  most  conscientious  man.  It  will  be 
perceived  that  bis  purpose  of  becoming  a  preacher  of  the 
gospel  was  formed  several  years  before  it  became  practi- 
cable to  put  it  in  execution.  His  remarks  concerning 
the  business,  in  which  he  was  then  laboring,  will  be 
interesting  to  printers,  and  must  be  acknowledged  to  be 
as  applicable  to  the  mode  of  carrying  on  the  business  now 
as  they  were  in  1787. 

Worcester,  September  \Sih,  1787. 
Honored  Sir, 

The  many  proofs  which  I  have  recci\^ed  of  your  affection  for  me, 
excites  in  my  breast  the  warmest  sentiments  of  gratitude.  But  when  I 
shall  be  able  to  make  any  other  compensation  for  your  numerous  favors, 
is  known  only  to  Him  who  reads  the  pages  of  futurity.  But,  it  is  my 
fervent  prayer,  that  my  conduct  in  life,  and  that  of  all  tliose  who  have 
had  the  happiness  to  derive  their  existence  from  so  kind  a  Parent,  may 
ever  be  such,  as  in  some  measure  to  reward  the  assiduity  witli  which 
you  have  labored  to  promote  our  happiness;  —  and  while  many  other 
parents  have  the  unhappiness  of  seeing  their  children  sacrifice  their 
interest,  happiness,  and  even  their  lives  in  the  jiursuit  of  those  pleasures 
which  finally  end  in  iiTCtricvable  ruin,  may  you  Iiave  the  solid  satisfac- 
tion of  seeing  yours  walking  in  the  paths  of  virtue,  and  seeking  a  crown 
of  immortal  glory  —  that  in  the  decline  of  life,  you  may  reflect  with 
pleasure  on  the  prospect  there  may  then  be  of  each  of  your  children's 
being  useful  members  of  society,  —  and  when  you  shall  be  brought  to 
the  closing  scene  of  this  transitory  existence,  may  the  hopes  of  meeting 
your  family  in  a  future  and  happy  world,  enable  you  to  meet  with  calm- 
ness and  serenity  the  messenger  of  death,  and  welcome  his  approach. 


APPENDIX.  343 

For  me  to  alter  my  course  of  life,  and  determine  upon  following  any 
other  occupation  than  the  one  I  do  at  present,  without  laying  the  mat- 
ter before  you,  and  asking  your  advice,  you  miglit  justly  deem  an  un- 
grateful piece  of  conduct.  I  shall  therefore,  honored  sir,  lay  my  mind 
open  to  you  with  freedom,  and  ask  your  friendly  advice.  For  me  to 
follow  the  printing  business  any  longer  than  necessity  obliges  me,  there 
appears  to  be  but  little  encouragement.  You  are  sensible  that  the 
cost  attending  setting  it  up  so  as  to  follow  it  with  any  advantage  to 
myself,  or  usefulness  to  others,  must  be  very  considerable.  And  it  is  a 
trade  M-liich,  of  all  otliers,  requires  money  to  carry  it  on.  Your  cir- 
cumstances are  such,  as  to  i)ut  it  out  of  your  power  to  afibrd  me  much 
assistance,  nor  can  I  reasonably  expect  it  of  you — journeymen's  wages 
at  this  business  are  very  low,  and  journeymen  numerous,  and  daily 
increasing.  Nor  do  I  think  that  master  printers  are  so  ftivorable  to 
them  as  in  justice  they  ouglit  to  be,  for  they  will  sooner  take  apprentices 
to  do  tlieu'  work,  than  employ  journeymen  —  and  if  printers  increase 
as  fast  for  a  few  years  to  come  as  they  do  At  present,  they  will  not, 
many  of  them,  procure  a  subsistence  by  their  trade.  Besides,  there  are 
printing-offices  already  established  in  almost  eveiy  populous  town  in  this 
part  of  the  country.  These,  sir,  are  circumstances  which  I  consider  as 
very  discouraging  —  and  I  doubt  not  but  you  will  view  them  in  the 
same  light. 

I  suppose  you  will  by  this  time  be  ready  to  inquire  what  other  occu- 
pation will  be  more  agreeable  to  my  inclinations  ;  I  almost  blush  to 
mention  it,  even  to  the  tendercst  of  parents.  But  you  will  pardon  me, 
sir,  when  I  inform  you  that  I  shall  not  presume  to  do  any  thing  con- 
cerning this  matter,  without  your  consent.  From  my  childhood  my 
inclination  has  led  me  to  desire  that  I  might  one  day  become  a  preacher 
of  the  gospel.  These  desires  I  have  been  obliged  to  suppress,  because 
I  knew  you  coidd  not  give  me  a  liberal  education.  And  I  believe  I 
should  wholly  have  conquered  them,  if  persons  of  my  acquaintance 
had  not  repeatedly  informed  me  that  it  was  their  expectation  that  tliis 
would  be  the  case.  What  led  them  to  form  this  opinion,  I  cannot  tell. 
Sure  I  am  that  I  gave  them  no  intimations  of  any  such  thing  in  any  of 
my  conversations.  It  being  frequently  mentioned  to  me,  awakened  the 
desire  that  it  should  be  so.  And  my  brother  Noah's  informing  me  that 
it  was  his  opinion  that  this  would  be  the  case,  when  I  saw  him  last,  has 
kindled  these  desires  into  a  flame.  And  upon  the  whole,  I  want  no- 
thing but  your  ap])robation  to  detennine  upon  it.  If  I  gain  that,  I  shall 
endeavor  to  improve  myself  in  writing  and  arithmetic,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  take  the  charge  of  a  school  for  some  time  after  I  have  done  living 
here,  where  I  shall  probably  be  able  to  pursue  the  necessary  studies, 


344  APPENDIX. 

with  greater  assiduity  than  I  can  to  continue  at  this  business.  I  hope 
you  ^\'ill  advise  with  caution,  remembering  that  the  future  usefulness 
and  happiness  of  your  son  depends  in  a  great  measure  upon  your  de- 
cision. Perhaps  you  will  think  that  if  I  now  alter  my  course,  I  shall 
lose  the  time  which  I  have  spent  in  acquiring  a  superficial  knowledge  of 
this  business.  But  unless  you  consider  that  I  have  had  greater  advan- 
tages of  gaining  knowledge  here  than  I  should  have  had  in  most  other 
places,  that  objection  will  not  need  an  answer.  Possibly,  if  you  should 
approve  the  design,  I  might  i)ersuade  Mr.  Thomas  to  give  me  up  the 
bond  for  my  last  year,  or  a  part  of  it  at  least.  You  will  please  to  give 
me  a  plain  and  full  answer,  by  the  first  opportunity.  *  *  * 
I  am  your  most  dutiful  son, 

Leoxakd  Worcester. 
Noah  Worcester,  Esq. 

The  writer  of  this  admirable  letter  was  connected 
with  the  church  in  "Peacham,  Vermont,  more  than  fifty 
years.  He  died  at  a  very  advanced  age,  respected  and 
regretted  by  all  that  knew  him. 


INDEX   TO   VOL.   I. 


Adams,  Abijali,  trial  for  a  libel,  258  — 
his  death  and  cliaracler,  265. 

Adams,  John,  16(i,  174,  196,  —  con- 
troversy with  Hratlle,  175. 

Adams  &c  Larlcin,  256. 

Adams  &  Nourse,  253  -  256. 

Adams,  Samuel,  166-196. 

Adams,  Thomas,  256  -  260. 

A!lcii,  John,  5. 

Allen,  J.  Wincoli,  227. 

American  Herald,  252. 

American  Oracle  of  Liberty,  237. 

Andrews,  Loring,  321. 

Aurora  Borealis,  25. 

Austni,  Benjamin,  jun.,  268-280. 

Austin,  Charles,  278. 

Advertiser,  American,  304. 

Federal,  321. 

ludepcudcnt,  156. 

Universal,  248. 

Weekly,  308. 

Bacon,  John,  senator,  258. 

Ballard,  Davis  C,  266. 

Bears,  killed  at  Marblehead  and  in 

Boston  harbor,  S6. 
Bigelow,  Daniel,  239. 
Bigelow,  Joshua,  31. 
Bitterly,  Will.  97. 
Blunt,  Timothy,  98. 
Boone,  Nicholas,  4. 
Boston  Chronicle,  212. 
Boston  Evening  Post,  129-153. 
Boston  Gazette,  Brooker's,  44. 

Kneeland  &  Green's,  46. 

Edes  &  Gill's,  165-202. 

S.  Kiiceland's,  163. 

Boston  Massacre,  167. 
Boston  Port  Bill,  193,  236. 
Boston  Saint,  letters  of,  41. 
Boston  Weekly  Advertiser,  206. 
Boston  Weekly  Post-Boy,  154. 
Boy  wliipped  at  the  cart's  tail,  87. 
Boydcll,  John,  46. 
Boyle,  .tohn,  42. 
Bradford,  William  &  Thomas,  28S. 


Brattle,  William,  175. 

Brimstone,  George,  98. 

Brooker,  William,  44. 

Bunker  Hill,  battle  of,  and  verses  on, 
221. 

Brantrey,  proceedings  in  the  church 
of,  86. 

Burgojnie,  defence  of  Gen.  Lee,  220. 

Burnet,  Governor,  106. 

Butler,  William,  329,  332. 

Byles,  Rev.  Mather,  54,  101,  104, 
105  —  his  hymn  on  tempest,  102  — 
verses  on  the  death  of  George  I., 
104  —  on  the  accession  of  George 
n.,  104  —  on  the  arrival  of  Gov- 
ernor Burnet,  106  —  letter  to  Pope, 
109  —  obituary  notice,  109. 

Burlesque  on  the  Council,  68. 

Burlesque  advertisement,  87. 

Cali-sthenes,  by  J.  Quincy,  jun.,  105. 

Campbell,  John,  4-23  —  personal 
history,  5  —  appeals  to  the  public, 
7, 8  —  quarrel  with  Franklin,  8-  10 
—  style  of  writing,  12,  13 — adver- 
tisements, 16,  17. 

Cassim,  vision  of,  285. 

Castalio,  letter  to  J.  Franklin,  52. 

Charlestown,  burning  of,  221. 

Chauncey,  Rev.  Dr.  139. 

Chronicle,  Boston,  212. 

Chronicle^  Independent,  248-287. 

Chronicle,  New-England,  220-224. 

Cincinnati,  254. 

Cole,  Israel,  obituary  and  epitaph, 
85. 

Connecticut  Gazette,  316. 

Connecticut  Journal,  313. 

Constitutional  Courant,  246. 

Continental  Journal,  308. 

Courant,  New-England,  49-88  — 
editorial  paragraphs,  84  -  88. 

Cushing,  Thomas,  166. 

Danforth,  Judge,  101. 
Dawes,  Thomas,  311. 


346 


Devil,  getting  into  a  pot,  84. 

Dogood,  Mrs.  Silence,  62,  64,  65. 

Draper  &  Folsom,  304. 

Draper,  John,  27-29. 

Draper,  Margaret,  42,  43. 

Draper,  Richard,  29— his  death,  42 

—  quarrel  with  Edes  &  Gill,  208. 
Dudley,  Governor,  proclamation,  14. 
Duntou,  au  English  boolcseller,  2. 

Early  Ri.ser,  314. 

Eclipse  of  Liberty,  160. 

Eclipse  of  the  sun,  73. 

Edes  &  Gill,  165-  196. 

Edes,  Benjamin,  196  —  his  evasion 
of  the  stamp-act,  197  —  appeals  to 
the  public,  198  —  farewell  address, 
202  —  life  and  character,  204  — 
death,  205,  341. 

Edes,  Benjamin,  jua.,  196. 

Edes,  Peter,  196. 

Elegy  on  Blrs.  Mehitable  Kittel,  75. 

Emerald,  105. 

Epitaph  on  a  drunkard,  35. 

Essex  Gazette,  217. 

Essex  Journal,  299. 

Etheridge,  Samuel,  252. 

Evening  Post,  Boston,  129  - 153. 

Fashions,  115. 

Federal  Advertiser,  320. 

Federal  Miscellany,  334. 

Felt,  Rev.  Joseph  15.,  1. 

Fleet,  Thomas,  126,  129-145  — in- 
formation against,  130  —  editorials, 
131, 135, 140  — advertisements,  131, 
132,  142,  144  —  controversy  with 
Rev.  J.  Morehead,  132  —  contro- 
versy with  Rev.  Mr.  Gee,  136  — 
notices  of  his  life  and  death,  142  - 
145. 

Fleet,  Thomas  &  John,  145  -  153. 

Fleming,  John,  215. 

Fowie,  Daniel,  159  —  arrested  by 
order  of  General  Court,  160  —  re- 
moval to  Portsmouth,  102. 

FowIe,  Zechanah,  IGl,  229. 

FowIe,  Jacob,  adventures,  13. 

Foxcroft,  Rev.  Thomas,  136. 

Franklin.  Benjamin,  64  —  address  to 
the  public,  79  —  writings  in  the 
Con  rant,  64,  88. 

Franklin,  James,  8,49  —  controversy 
with  the  JMathers,  50-  59  —  impris- 
onment, 66  —  lamentation,  74  — 
removal  to  Newport,  88  —  widow 
of,  228. 

Frauds  and  delusions,  121  -  125. 

Freeman,  Edmund,  321. 


Freeman,  Rev.  James,  246. 

Gazette,  Boston,  44, 46, 163, 165-  204. 
Essex  217. 

Massa'chu.setts,  30,  227. 

Salem,  225. 

Weekly,  220. 

Worcester,  240. 


Gardiner,  John,  325. 

Gardiner,  Rev.  J.  S.  J.  199. 

Gee,  Rev.  Mr.  136. 

Gill.  John,  308. 

Goddard,  William,  246. 

Gordon,  Rev.  William,  251. 

Gravely,  Charles,  95. 

Graves,  Sir  Samuel,  37. 

Green,  Bartholomew,  5  —  publisher 
and  editor  of  the  News-Letter,  23 
—  notices  to  customers,  24  —  edi- 
torials, 25  —  obituary  notice,  26. 

Green,  Bartholomew,  jun.  48. 

Green  &  Russell,  206.  * 

Green,  John,  209. 

Green,  Samuel,  26. 

Green,  Thomas  &  Samuel,  313. 

Green,  Timothy,  48,  313,  316. 

Greenleaf,  Thomas,  281. 

Gridley,  Jeremy,  112  —  essays  in  the 
Rehearsal,  112-125  —  character, 
127  —  verses  on  his  death,  128. 

Hall,  Ebenezer,  217,  223. 

Hall,  Samuel,  217-228  —  removal 
from  Salem  to  Cambridge,  220  — 
to  Boston,  223  — to  Salem,  225  — 
to  Boston,  226  —  birth  place,  death, 
and  character,  228. 

Hampshire  Gazette,  329. 

Hancock,  John,  166. 

Happy  man,  218. 

Harris,  Benjamin,  2  —  printer  of  laws, 
3. 

Ha,ssenclever,  Peter,  247. 

Hell-Fire  Club,  59,  63. 

Herald  of  Freedom,  321. 

Hicks,  John,  211. 

Hobby,  Rev.  William,  136. 

Honestus,  274. 

Honeysuckle,  Mr.  98. 

Horace,  translation  of,  83. 

Hoop  Petticoats,  88. 

Howe,  General,  Proclamations,  36. 

Howe,  John,  43. 

Howell,  John,  327. 

Huske,  Ellis,  154. 

Hughes,  John,  289,  293. 

Hutchinson,  Governor,  171,  174,  186, 
187,  191,  193,  234,  235. 

Hutton,  Henry,  148. 


INDEX. 


347 


Hvpercriticus,  71. 
Hyperion,  177,  178. 

Independent  Advertiser,  156-158. 
Independent  Chronicle,  24S-2S7. 
Independent  Ledger,  304. 
Indian  Pudding,  87. 
Inoculators,  51. 

Jacobiniad,  199. 
Janus,  Old,  81,  82. 
Jarvis,  Dr.  Cinarles,  280. 
Join  or  die,  230,  246. 
Journal,  Continental,  308. 

New-England   Weekly,  89- 

111. 

Country,  165. 

Pennsylvania,  288-297. 

King's  birth-day,  107. 

Kneeland  &  Green,  46,  47,  107,  163. 

Kileelaiid,  Samuel,  47,  89. 

Ladies,  meetings  of,  33 

Lacoand  Co.,  322. 

Lelius,  communication,  187. 

Lee,  General  Burgoyne's  defence  of, 

220. 
Letter    from   a  countryman  to   the 

town  of  Boston,  IS  —  to  Couranto 

on  his  imprisonment,  66. 
Lewis,  Thomas,  46. 
Liberty  Song,  146  —  parody  on,  148. 
Lubbuck,  James,  90. 
Lucius,  letter  to  Gov.  Hutchinson, 

171. 
Lunt,  Ezra,  298,  303. 
Lyman,  Rev.  Joseph,  329. 

Manning,  William,  244. 

MarchnionI,  Nedham,  186. 

Marshall,  Henry,  46, 

Marvel,  Andrew,  246. 

Martha's  Vineyard,  87. 

Masquerade,  38. 

Massachusettensis,  175. 

Massachusetts  Gazette,  29,  187,  207, 
227. 

Massachusetts  Spy,  229,  247  —  re- 
moval to  Worcester,  237  —  publi- 
cation suspended,  242. 

Massacre,  Boston,  167  —  anniversary 
of,  168. 

Mather,  Increase  and  Cotton,  21,  23, 
50 — advif-e  to  the  public,  53  — 
letter  to  Franklin,  55. 

Mein  &  Fleming,  212. 

Mein,  John,  214. 

Miils  &  Hicks,  208. 


Mills,  Nathaniel,  211. 
Monster  of  Monsters,  160. 
Morton,  Perez,  280. 
Murray.  John,  193. 
Musgrave,  Phillip,  46,  58,  6L 
Mucins  ScfBvola,  235. 
Mycall,  John,  298,  303. 

Naked  Truth,  verses  on,  219. 
Nancrede,  Joseph,  227. 
Nedham's  Remembrancer,  189  -  192. 
Negro  incantation,  282. 
New-England  Courant,  49-88. 
New-England  Chronicle,  220. 
New-England  Weekly  Journal,  89  - 

111. 
New- Haven  Post-Boy,  313. 
New-London  Gazette,  316. 
News-Letler,  4  -  43. 
Niles,  Mr.  minister  of  Braintree,  86. 
Novanglus,  175. 

Old  Man,  communication,  183. 

Old  South,  175. 

Oliver,  Andrew,  lieutenant-g»)vernor, 

174,  23.5. 
Oliver  Cromwell  tavern,  223. 
Otis,  James,  166,  311. 

Papal  Bulls,  142. 
Paper  rags,  call  for,  35. 
Parody  on  the  Liberty  Song,  148. 
Parody  parodized,  149. 
Parson  and  Widow,  331. 
Pedlar,  selling  tea,  170. 
Pensylvania  Journal,  288-297. 
Peters,  Rev.  Samuel,  339. 
Pierce,  Richard,  2. 
Pirates,  execution  of,  14-16. 
Piscataqua,  curious  account  from,  12. 
Post,  Boston  Evening,  129-153. 
Post-Boy  and  Advertiser,  207. 
Post-Boy,  Boston  Weekly,  154. 
Post-Boy,  Green  &  Russell's,  30. 
Potomac  Guardian,  252. 
Powars  &  Willis,  225,  248,  251. 
Powars,  Edward  Eveleth,  251. 
Power  of  sympathy,  323. 
Primus,  negro  pressman,  162. 
Prince,  Rev.  Tliomas,  107,  111. 
Prometheus,  story  of,  1 18. 
Proteus  Echo,  91,  95,  101. 
Psalm  for  Fast-day,  283. 
Psalm  tunes,  88. 

Quincy,  Josiah,  jun.  177-192. 

Rags,  advertisement  for,  35. 
Ranlet,  Henry,  334. 


348 


INDEX. 


Reheargal,  Weekly,  112-128. 

Revere,  Paul,  168,  237. 

Rhoades,  Ebeaezer,  261, 264  —  death, 

2G6. 
Robie,  Thomas,  73. 
Rogers  &  Fowle,  156,  158. 
Rogers,  Gamahel,  158. 
Russell  &  Clap,  210. 
Russell,  Joseph,  210. 
Rutland,  whig    proceedings    in  the 

town  of,  193. 

Salem  Gazette,  225. 

Sanderson,  Robert,  214. 

Scioto  Gazette,  252. 

Selfridge,  T.  O.  277. 

Serpent  with  two  heads,  85. 

Sewall,  Jonathan,  175. 

Shays,  Daniel,  329. 

Shearman,  Deborah,  letter  to  George 

Whitedeld,  137. 
Singing  at  Hraintree,  86. 
Shute,  Governor,  77. 
Small  Pox,  49,  54. 
Smokers  of  tobacco,  300. 
Soldier's  sentimental  toast,  310. 
Soliloquy  of  the  Liberty  Tree,  38. 
Stearns,  William,  239. 
Stamp  Act,  32,  167. 
Strong,  Caleb,  330. 
Sun,  great  eclipse  of,  73. 
Sweeny,  Samuel,  247. 

Tate  and  Brady,  criticism  on  their 
version  of  the  Psalms,  28. 

Tea,  destruction  of,  109. 

Thomas,  Isaiah,  229-245  —  appren- 
ticeship, 229— aflhir  at  Halifax, 
230  —  employed  in  Charleston,  S. 
C,  231  —  return  to  Boston,  231  — 
persecuted  by  Tories,  233  —  coutro- 


versy  with  Draper,  234  —  removal 
to  Worcester,  237  —  business  con- 
nections, 244  —  his  works,  244  — 
founder  of  the  American  Antiqua- 
rian Society,  244  — death  and  obit- 
uary notice,  245. 

Thomas,  Isaiah,  jun.,  243. 

Tide,  remarkable,  25. 

Times,  334. 

Tinges,  Henry  Walter,  298,  303. 

Tyler,  Royal,  161,  162. 

Verses  on  the  Comet,  73  —  on  a  La- 
dy singing,  125— on  the  death  of 
J.  Gridlcy,  128— to  the  Rev. 
Charles  Chauncey,  139  —  on  the 
burning  of  Charlestown,  221  — on 
General  Warren,  250  —  on  the 
New  Year  291  —  to  smokers,  300. 

Virginia  Resolutions,  257. 

Warren,  Gen.  .Joseph,  250. 
Washington,  George,   diploma  from 

Harvard  College,  223. 
Webb,  John,  recantation,  195. 
Weekly  Advertiser,  267. 
Weekly  Journal,  89. 
Weekly  Post-Boy,  154. 
Weekly  Rehearsal,  112-128. 
White,  James,  260,  263. 
Whitelield,  Rev.  George,  111,  135. 
Willard,  Abijah,  recantation,  194. 
Willis,  Nathaniel,  252. 
Willis,  N.  P.  253. 
Winthrop,  John,  81. 
Worcester  Gazette,  240. 
Worcester,  Leonard,  243,  341 
Worcester  Magazine,  241. 
Worcester,  instructions  of  the  town 

to  her  l^epresentative,  31. 
Wright,  Edmund,  jun.  266. 


